Mother Nature
by SladinForever
Summary: After a run-in with Poison Ivy, Robin must cope with a drastic change and start a new life that is full of hardships, life threatening situations, and new, complicated feelings. He must learn to live as one with Mother Nature and the creatures that inhabit the Earth while searching for a cure to his problem
1. Mother Nature Chapter 1 Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Titans or the characters affiliated with it. I make no profit off these stories, because that would be called stealing ;) There are some OCs in the future, so leave them be; they're mine, all mine! *evil laugh*

I took this from my 100 Fan Fic Challenge to make it the story's prologue. I didn't want anyone to have to flip-flop between story links ;) Here is where this story all started! Also, this is just to tie you guys over until August when I start posting the whole story. Every Friday afternoon my time—United States west coast—I will update it. I started this story a little over a year ago, I do believe, so it was written in advance, unlike my other stories. So mark your calenders on August 17th—18th if you're from another country—because that's when regular updates will happen—unless stated otherwise— I'm waiting until the middle of August because it'll give me enough time to finish the last chapter of Death Changes You before I start a new story

**Note: **Stories like my prostitution fan fic will be on hold until further notice. Besides, I haven't had the motivation for those in a while. I haven't a clue when I'll get back to them either, sorry. So you'll just have to enjoy a new story starting in August for now!

Any questions about Mother Nature, go ahead and ask and I'll try to answer them—unless they're questions about the plot—

**SladinForever**

* * *

Mother Nature was crueler than one would think, especially when Poison Ivy was involved. She had done _something_ to make such a drastic change to one of her enemies. And, with God as his witness, Robin was going to figure out how to fix it before things got even worse. But first, he really had to pee.

Entering a dark alley, a big red wolf lifted his leg to use the bathroom. Once done, he lowered it back down and yawned, his sharp fangs glinting in the dim sunlight. He then growled low.

"Stupid fleas."

Sitting down, Robin lifted his back leg and lowered his head to scratch his neck. He suddenly stopped, his ears perking up. The right one twitched. Lowering his leg back down, Robin slowly looked over his shoulder. A tall and lean dog catcher had a cable choker on a long pole in his hands. He slowly approached him.

"Stay." Robin didn't move. "That's a good boy."

The man stopped five feet away and slowly moved the ring towards Robin's head. Once it was almost around the side of his muzzle, he ducked and spun around, swiftly zooming past the dog catcher. He turned the corner and ran as fast as he could down the sidewalk. No one paid heed as he ran past people. They all probably thought he was a large dog, not the more ferocious wolf that most people perceived them as.

Glancing over his shoulder, Robin saw the dog catcher chasing after him in his truck. Growling lightly, he ran into the street, weaved in and out of cars that were at the red light, and ran to the other side. The catcher parked his truck quickly at the curb and then ran after him. Robin soon reached an alley with a high brick wall at the end. Deciding he didn't want to get cornered, he moved sideways to the right, jumped up onto a dumpster, and then made a giant leap for the top. He managed to pull his thin bulk onto the edge and then drop down onto the other side. Robin had a thrill actually as he had done it. He had felt like he was actually flying. A wolf-like grin formed on his muzzle as he continued running. Robin wasn't sure why this was so exciting to him. Maybe it was his new canine instincts?

Entering a new alley, Robin decided to take a break to catch his breath. He panted down at the filthy alley floor, licking his chops every once in a while. His mouth seemed to be filled with gallons of saliva. It threatened to drip off his tongue and off his teeth.

"I have to get back to the tower somehow and get the others to help me change back and find Ivy," he said. "I wonder how well wolves can swim…"

With his breath back, Robin turned around and stepped with one paw before abruptly stopping and cowering back. Swallowing, he slowly lifted his gaze and noticed the two-toned mask easily.

_'Greeeeat…' _he thought.

Without thinking twice, Robin tried to bolt past Slade. The villain stepped lazily to the side, allowing him to pass. Robin glanced back as he ran, wondering why he didn't chase after him. The answer was quite obvious.

"Gotcha!"

The dog catcher had found him, the cable looped somewhat tightly around his neck. Growling, Robin tried to pull back, but the cable tightened again. He thrashed his head around, trying to break free. The catcher gripped the pole tightly and was practically sliding forward on his feet as Robin continued to pull back. He suddenly fell backwards as he tugged, falling into a jumbled heap on the ground. Quickly looking up from his lying position, Robin saw Slade drop the catcher to the ground, unconscious. Robin was actually relieved.

"I'll only say this once: thanks Slade."

Slade crouched next to the dog catcher as Robin stood up. He pulled a syringe out of the man's pocket. Robin's eyes widened when he approached him with it, taking the protective cap off. Robin attempted to step back, but Slade stepped onto the middle of the pole, pulling his neck down to the ground. Robin yelped when he gripped the scruff of his neck tightly and stabbed him with the needle. He was slowly drifting into unconsciousness as the tranquilizer entered his brain, making him tired. His eyes drooped and then closed. Then, before he knew it, Robin fell over sideways, darkness swallowing him whole.

* * *

Robin's black nose twitched. He was slowly coming around as he lay on a hard floor, his head between his outstretched paws. A small whine escaped him from the slight pain in his head. Soon his sense of touch was returning as the numbness wore off. The first thing he felt was something thick wrapped several times around the top half of his muzzle. It was stuck behind his front fangs, preventing it from slipping off. Opening his eyes, Robin saw that it was wrapped in a leather strap that looked like a leash. He lifted his head and saw the end tied securely to a metal ring on a metal wall.

Growling, Robin slowly got up on slightly shaking legs and glared at the strap. Clenching his fangs tightly, he reared his head back, trying to break free. His paws slipped somewhat on the slick, metal floor. He snarled, thrashing his head around violently. Robin expected the strap to break since he was stronger in this form, but it stayed perfectly intact. Despite this, he continued to pull, tug, and thrash his head around. It was purely instinct to try and break free. He even tried to bite the strap in his mouth, but it was too tough.

_'Oh come on!'_

For the next three hours, Robin tried to get his muzzle free. At one point he even attempted to pull the ring out from the wall, but his snout got in the way. He couldn't get his teeth around it. An idea suddenly came to him. Standing directly in front of the wall, he lifted his front paws and placed them against it. Turning his head to the right, he reached down and grabbed the strap with his fangs. Clenching down on it, he used his paws to push against the wall as he pulled on the strap. He growled lowly as it continued to stay intact.

Robin was still thrashing his head around as a door opened in the distance. He stopped, his left ear perking back. It caught the sound of even foot steps. Dropping the strap and pushing off the wall, Robin turned sideways. He growled lightly at Slade as he approached. The villain seemed undisturbed.

"You won't be able to break free from your leash I'm afraid," he said, stopping in front of him. Robin growled deep within his throat. "I don't plan on untying you either."

"Then what the hell are you keeping me here for?" he asked angrily.

"If you keep silent, I might feed you."

Robin mentally kicked himself. Of course Slade couldn't understand him. His stomach growled then and he realized he was pretty hungry. So Robin closed his mouth and stared intently at Slade. After waiting at least a minute, he reached into his belt and pulled out a large hunk of raw meat covered in plastic. Despite hating to beg for food, Robin licked his chops, his mouth salivating. He whined in anticipation as Slade unwrapped it. He tossed it to the floor in front of him. Robin reached down to grab it, but it was too far away.

"You're not supposed to tease animals like that!" Robin shouted, realizing Slade had done it on purpose.

Turning around, Robin pulled his head back, growling and snarling in anger. Slade watched him thrash around briefly before undetectably pushing the meat towards him with the toe of his boot. After a few more hard pulls, Robin stopped. The smell of the meat suddenly reached his nose. Looking over, he saw it and instantly started attacking it with his fangs. Robin placed one paw on the end and pulled, tearing a piece off. He chewed and quickly swallowed before getting more. Robin hoped that when he returned to normal, the raw meat wouldn't make him sick.

"Good boy." Robin swallowed a piece of meat the wrong way. He looked over his shoulder and saw Slade staring down at him. Sensing a smirk behind his mask, Robin turned and tried to get at him with his front paws. He snapped and growled at him, blood flying from his jaws. A small, but deep bark passed his muzzle. "I would stop that if I were you."

Robin dropped down, crouched, and growled at Slade, fangs fully exposed. "Then don't say that." Robin's growling slowly diminished. Calming down, he turned around and started to eat again. Turning around, Slade started to leave. Robin swallowed before looking over his shoulder. He whined. "Don't leave me alone."

Slade, of course, didn't understand him. He walked through the door, sliding closed behind him. Robin's eyes narrowed in despair. Whining, he looked back at his remaining meal, finished it, and then attempted to break free again.

* * *

It was now late at night. Robin tugged on the strap lazily. He had been going for hours, but he was nowhere close to being free. Getting tired, he laid down and closed his eyes, missing his bed already. Robin whined. He was half asleep when he heard the door open. Lifting his head, he looked over and saw Slade approach him. Whining quietly, he lowered his head back to the floor between his paws and closed his eyes. Reaching him, Slade sat against the wall beside him. Robin's nose twitched. Opening his eyes a bit, he saw Slade lift his left hand and slowly reach for his nose.

Eyes widening, Robin quickly scrambled up and backed away, growling. He assumed it was his wolf instinct to not trust Slade. He suddenly whined, the top half of his muzzle hurting from having the strap rubbing against his gums all day. He opened his mouth to relax it, his tongue flopping out as he breathed. He whined pathetically as his legs slowly bent and he laid back down. His mouth really was sore. Robin closed his eyes again, whimpering quietly. Wanting to sleep comfortably, he pulled his legs out from under him and became still.

Again Robin was almost asleep when Slade tried to touch him. Opening his eyes slightly, he watched as he ran his gloved fingers over his snout. Robin's nose twitched. He suddenly had the urge to lick those fingers. Robin moved closer, actually enjoying the soft touch. Slade then ran his hand over his eyes. Robin closed them out of instinct before opening them again.

_'Okay, I shouldn't be enjoying this.'_ He allowed Slade to pet him. _'But it feels so nice…'_ Robin's tail was actually sweeping the floor. _'Beast Boy would probably be appalled by this.'_

Robin's eyes shot open. That was it! Ignoring Slade, he jumped up and started to tug at the strap again. Slade stared at him with a slightly narrowed eye, shaking his head in disappointment.

"I already told you: it won't break. It's indestructible leather."

Robin stopped and looked at him, his eyes narrowed in, hopefully, a glare. "I bet you know who I am, you jerk. You're just doing this for your enjoyment."

Slade stood up and started to walk away. Robin watched him go, still glaring. He snorted before trying to break free again.

* * *

After two more hours, Robin had finally fallen asleep. He was curled up in a tight ball, keeping himself warm with his fluff. What woke him up was the swish of the door sliding open. Robin lifted his head and watched Slade approach. His mouth instantly watered when he saw the bloody meat in his hand. He jumped up and let off a small bark that sounded more like a pleading growl. His stomach growled too. Stopping in front of him, Slade dropped the deer meat in front of Robin, blood seeping out onto the floor. He walked off to clean up the blood that had dripped onto the floor as he walked to him.

The smell of the raw meat caught Robin's nose. Like the greedy, hungry wolf he was, he instantly attacked it, pulling chunks off as he bit into the tough muscle. In just ten minutes, every last bite was gone. All that remained was a big puddle of blood. Robin's ears perked up and his tail wagged.

"Great idea Wonder Boy!" With the tip of his nose, Robin attempted to write his name in the blood. It was somewhat sloppy, but it was still legible. He then sat down with his tail sweeping the floor, a wolf-like smile on his face as he licked blood off his nose. Any second now Slade would be there to clean up the mess. And, sure enough, Slade was coming over with a fluffy, black towel in his hands._ 'And who says animals aren't smart!' _

Slade crouched in front of the puddle and was about to clean it up when the letter _N_ caught his eye. Robin whined in excitement when he noticed him reading it upside down. His mood almost instantly changed when Slade chuckled.

"I knew it! You bastard!"

"Yes, Robin, I know it's you." Robin growled in annoyance at him. "I know Poison Ivy did this to you. I am in the middle of making the antidote. There is no need for your friends. And don't do that." Robin stopped growling, but continued to glare at him. "I will untie you, but you will stay in here."

Robin mentally snorted. "I oughta bite you in the ass, you jerk."

After cleaning up the blood, Slade went over to the wall and took the end of the leash off the ring. He then turned back to Robin and carefully pulled the loops out of his mouth. He licked his mouth, feeling a lot better with the leather gone. The roof of his mouth and gums were really numb and raw though.

"I will return around seven to feed you." Robin looked up at Slade. "It might take a few days to finish the chemical formula. You may as well run around and get your energy out."

With that said, Slade walked past him, heading for the door. Robin stayed behind, knowing he'd be back on that leash if he tried to run. The door slid closed and locked behind him. Deciding he would do as Slade suggested, Robin stretched his front legs and paws, shook his body, and then started to run around the perimeter of the room in a circle instead of a rectangle. He decided to try a few things too.

After running around the room several times, Robin ran at the opposite wall, picking up speed. When he was almost there, he started to turn sideways. He then pushed off the floor and jumped at the wall. After landing sideways on it, he jumped off, feeling like he was flying, like in the alley. Robin landed back on his paws and continued to run, jumping on and off the wall every few minutes. After an hour, he was tired and out of breath. He walked around slowly. Suddenly sitting down, Robin started attacking his neck with his back right paw, trying to get at a few fleas.

"This is…definitely one of the downsides…of being dogs…and cats…"

Once the itching had been taken care of, Robin decided on a nap. He hoped Slade would hurry up with that antidote.

* * *

It was the next afternoon. Robin was still locked up in the room he woke up in the day before. At breakfast, Slade had told him he was making a break through. There were just a few side effects, but he didn't say what. Robin hated the secrecy. He guessed he would know after he turned back into a human.

"You're finally in luck, Robin." Slade stopped in front of him with a thick needle in his hand. Robin looked wearily at it. "I hope it works."

Robin's mouth fell open._ 'You hope?'_ Finding a place on the back of Robin's neck, Slade stabbed him with the needle, making him yelp in pain. He pushed in the antidote and then stepped back. Nothing seemed to happen for almost five minutes. Robin growled in annoyance at him. "I think you need to try again."

Slade snorted in amusement. "Yes, I think I might."

Robin's eyes widened. "You can understand me?"

Slade smirked behind his mask. "Yes, but it looks amusing when your mouth doesn't move."

Robin growled. "Don't make fun of me! I'm humiliated enough as it is!"

"No need to get snippy," Slade said. "I will reformulate. I will keep you in here until-"

"No!"

"No what?"

Robin whined. "Don't leave me in here. It's boring and as much as I hate to admit it, I want company. Just let me return to the Titans and-"

Slade shook his head. "You are not going anywhere for a while. Once I cure you, then you may leave."

"Then let me out of this room!"

Slade chuckled. "There is only one way for you to get that request."

Robin growled at him. "Dogs beg, not wolves! I have more pride than that!"

Slade turned around and started to leave. "Then you will be stuck in here for a few more days. I will feed you around eight."

Slade left, leaving Robin whining in despair. Going back over to the wall, he laid down and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. It was very hard to do since he was overly bored. He sighed.

"Geez, fine. I'll beg when you come back." Around eight, Slade returned with food. Robin stayed where he was, seeing as he knew enough about canines. He lay there in submission. Slade stopped in front of him and dropped the meat. "Slade, can I _please_ come out of this room?"

Slade was smirking down at him. "Giving in so easily, Robin? I am very disappointed."

Robin whined. "I'm _desperate_ Slade! I have never been so bored."

Slade chuckled. "Eat your dinner and you can come out." Robin actually jumped up in excitement. Slade held in the urge to laugh. He watched as he ate quickly. Once done, Robin licked his chops and then wagged his tail. Slade chuckled. "I kind of like you this way."

Robin looked confused. "Huh?"

"Excuse my very unrealistic response to my personality, but you are very adorable."

Robin's eyes widened. He felt like fainting right then and there. He spluttered as he tried to speak. "Y-You-that's-I-I-what-? I am not adorable! Take that back!"

Slade laughed this time. "I don't think I will," he said after calming down—which had been rather quickly. Robin growled at him. "Now let's get you out of this room. Follow me."

Upon hearing those words, Robin practically ran after Slade as he headed for the door. They walked down several hallways. Robin looked around in case he needed to escape later. Once they reached a lab, he quickly became curious of his new surroundings. Slade ignored him as he moved around the room, picking up brand new scents. Sitting down at his work station, he looked over his formula that he had started out with.

"I never knew there were so many scents out there," Robin mused out loud. "It's very interesting actually." He was now sniffing some liquid-filled bottles. One in particular suddenly made him sneeze. He licked his nose as snot came out. "What are these? Drugs?"

Slade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Robin was sniffing the bottles still. "Antidotes for diseases and injuries," he said, multitasking as he continued to read over his notes while making changes.

"Why not try mixing one of them with that formula?" Robin asked, watching Slade work now.

"I will later after I make changes to this one. Now be a good boy and go lie down for a while."

Robin gave him an annoyed look. "Don't call me that," he said, finding a comfortable spot in front of a lab station at the wall.

Robin laid his head on his paws, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

In the next two days, Slade had finished the new formula. Robin opened his mouth wide and yawned. He was resting by Slade's chair, playing with a smoke ball dud with his front paws. He had had the urge several times to ask Slade to play fetch with him. Maybe it would be fun.

_'I'm such a disgrace to wolf-kind_. _Wanting to play fetch with a human? And with it being Slade no doubt! My pride is severely wounded.' _Slade stood up and loaded a syringe. He put it in his belt before reaching down with both hands and easily lifting Robin off the floor. "Hey, hey, hey! Put me back on the floor!" Slade plopped him down right on the large table. Robin growled lowly at him. "Warn me next time."

"There won't be a next time," Slade said, bringing the needle back out. "This should fully cure you."

"It better," Robin said, annoyed. "These fleas are killing me."

"Indeed."

Exposing the back of his neck, Slade inserted the needle and pushed down on the plunger. The antidote went in and entered his blood stream. Robin sat up, his paws slipping slightly. They waited for a few minutes, seemingly nothing happening. Robin was about to growl at Slade when he felt heat boil within his stomach and chest.

"I think it's working!" Robin suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He lowered his body back down, placing his muzzle on his paws. "I think you just gave me a disease." Robin was definitely not feeling good at all. He whined as he felt a stabbing pain in his head. "Slade, something's wrong…"

Robin's eyes slowly closed as he gave in to the pain, which seemed to travel through his entire body. He was almost unconscious when he started to feel very cold. Soon his world was nothing but darkness.

* * *

Robin's body felt stiff and his eyes didn't want to open. He also felt half naked for some reason. The first thing he felt was that he was lying on something soft yet firm. His body was very warm too, which he liked. Robin suddenly felt whatever he was laying on dip slightly to the side.

"Robin, wake up."

Robin's eyes slowly fluttered open. His vision was slightly blurred, but it soon adjusted. Once he saw that it was Slade hovering over him, they widened in surprise. He quickly backed away.

"Dammit, you scared me!" He suddenly remembered why he was with him. "Did it work?"

"Not entirely I'm afraid," Slade said. "You still have the ears and tail, but the fur is gone." Robin felt his ears droop downward over his forehead. "Also, when you were turned into a wolf, you lost your clothes and mask."

Robin's unmasked eyes widened. He grabbed the blanket and covered his body up the best he could. "You damn pervert! Get out!"

Slade snorted as he stood up. "Give me a break, boy. You sound like a school girl."

"I don't like other people looking at my privates thank you very much," Robin shouted at him, "especially not by you!"

"If it's any consolation, I never looked," Slade said, his arms folded.

"That doesn't make me feel better! I'm naked for God's sake!"

Slade sighed. "Anyway, I will try the antidote aga-"

"No," Robin said firmly with a glare. "I want you to give me some damn clothes so that I can return to the tower and get Cyborg to cure me."

"I honestly don't think you will fit in with ears and a tail," Slade said, easily countering Robin's demands. "Not to mention I have no clothes that will fit you. And I doubt you'd get far in the nude."

"Then get me some clothes dammit!" Robin shouted, the blanket falling around his waist. "I don't want to be near you any longer!"

Slade glared at him. "Calm down," he said firmly. "You will stay here until I finish the real antidote. If I can't and there isn't a way to cure you entirely, then I will see about letting you return to your home. Now try to be patient."

Robin growled. "Fine. Just hurry u-" Robin stopped suddenly, hardly finishing his statement. Slade's eyebrow quirked when he fidgeted momentarily before kicking the covers off and bending his back in an odd angle. Reaching down, he started to bite the base of his tail, not caring about the fur getting into his mouth. "Grr…s-stupid…f-fleas…!"

Once the painful itch was gone, Robin pulled his body back into a proper position. Upon feeling the fur in his mouth, he tried spitting it out. Slade had to admit that it was a pretty funny situation at the moment. Putting his fingers in his mouth, Robin started raking the fur off his tongue.

"Are you alright now?" Slade asked.

Robin wiped the wet fur on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, I think so." Robin suddenly blushed. He used his tail to cover up his crotch. "What all did you see?"

Slade chuckled. "Just that ridiculous act."

Robin glared at him. "Not my fault I have fleas," he said, folding his arms over his chest. "Weren't you going to finish that antidote? I would like to go home sometime this century."

Slade shook his head in amusement. "I will bring you lunch later," he said, turning around and heading for the door. "My bathroom is right in there if you need it."

Slade pointed at another, half open door as he mentioned it. The door slid shut behind him. Robin was glaring at it. His ears suddenly perked up.

_'**My**…bathroom.' _Robin looked down and around him. He was in a king-sized bed with silk red satin sheets and a large white down comforter. A deep red blush formed on his cheeks and over his nose. Robin instantly jumped out once he realized he was in _Slade's _bed. He then growled. "Goddammit! I really _am_ acting like a school girl!"

Sighing, Robin wrapped his tail around the front of him. If he was still a full wolf, he wouldn't have cared. But he wasn't and he had to deal with being naked except for the tail and ears. Luckily the room was warm instead of cold. He didn't want to be in Slade's bed anyway.

Needing to use the bathroom, Robin did his business. Looking in the mirror after washing his hands and his mouth out, he ran his hand over one wolf ear. His tail suddenly bristled and the other ear twitched. Looking around, Robin made sure no one could see or hear him. For good measure, he closed and locked the door. He then looked back in the mirror and began to pet the ears. He also pulled on the tips of them slightly. On its own accord, Robin's tail began to wag softly as he continued to stroke them. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of content.

"That feels nice," he said dreamily. Stopping his ear stroking, Robin looked down at his bare stomach. He poked it with his pointer finger. His tail jerked slightly. Robin chuckled. "What I wouldn't do for a belly rub right now."

Using his right hand, he slow and gently ran it down his stomach. A small smile formed on his face when his tail actually wagged. Robin chuckled. For five minutes he gave himself a tummy rub and it was the greatest feeling in the world. His tail _really_ liked it.

Robin suddenly yelped when the base of his tail was attacked by fleas. Falling and rolling so that he could reach, he started to bite at it, ignoring the fur entering his mouth. Then his back began to itch as well.

"Dammit…!"

Once the itch in his tail was gone, he left the bathroom. Robin wasn't happy that the floor had no carpeting. Growling, he pulled the comforter back over the pillows and got on his back. He placed his tail over his privates and then began to roll around on his back. For three minutes he did that until the last itch was gone. Lying back, Robin sighed in content, his tail falling. The tip wagged slightly.

Deciding he was tired, Robin got up and pulled the cover off the bed. He found a place on the floor and curled up with it around him. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep.

* * *

Three days later and Robin still had the tail and ears._ 'Oh well,' _he thought. _'I kinda like them.'_

Slade was in the process of cutting a hole in a pair of black boxers for his tail to fit through. Like he promised, if he couldn't cure Robin fully in a few days, he would let him return to the tower so that his friends could find a way to fix the problem. He handed him the boxers.

"After you put those on, I will show you the underground tunnel to the bay," Slade said, watching as Robin eagerly pulled them up. "It is deathly cold outside. I would hate to have to discover you frozen to death."

Turning his upper body to the left, Robin pulled his tail through the hole, setting it free and wagging. He smiled. "I'ma miss this tail." He looked at Slade. "I'm ready to go home now."

Nodding, Slade turned around and headed out of the room, Robin following behind. They went down several halls and stairs. After five minutes, they reached a metal door that led into a dimly-lit tunnel. Warm air moved through, reminding Robin of a furnace room. They walked for a while in silence.

"What will you do if the Titans can't cure you?" Slade asked.

Robin shrugged. "Then we might have to find Ivy and demand she cure me. But, who knows, I'm kinda liking the tail wagging thing. Makes me feel happy."

They soon reached the end of the tunnel, with a slope that led up to the surface.

"We're right outside the docks," Slade said. "It will take you about five minutes to reach the surface. I'm sure you'll find the secret entrance to your tower."

Robin nodded. He stared at the slope briefly before looking at Slade. He held his hand out reluctantly. "Thanks for helping me, I guess."

Slade took a second to grip his hand. "Next time we meet, I better not see those ears and tail," he said with a smirk.

Robin stepped towards the end of the tunnel. "Deal."

Turning around, Robin ran towards the slope and then vanished from sight. Slade shook his head in amusement before turning around and heading back. Ten minutes later and Robin was reaching the elevator into the tower. Smiling, he entered and went to the main room. He stepped out seconds later and approached the Titans, who were arguing about him.

"He has been gone for ten days! We must find him!"

Robin stopped behind his friends.

"His communicator was with his clothes," Cyborg said. "We have no other way to track him."

"Then we must search the entire city without rest," Starfire said, sounding scared. "There has to be something more we can do!"

"That's okay, guys," Robin said. "I'm right here."

"Shut up, Rob, we're trying to find you," Cyborg said. He paused. The Titans turned and saw their leader. "Man, where the hell have you been? We've been looking all over for you!"

Raven stepped forward. "Robin, what's on your head?"

Beast Boy circled Robin and saw his tail. "Dude! You have a tail!"

Robin chuckled nervously. He relayed all that had happened when meeting Ivy and then blacking out after she hit him with the gas that turned him. He mentioned Slade, minus his name, not wanting to scare them."

"So I came back and hope you guys can find the cure," he concluded. "And then if we can't, then we'll find Poison Ivy and have her cure me instead."

"Then we better get on it immediately," Raven said. "Cyborg, take a sample of Robin's blood and test it."

"Sure thing Rae. Come on, Robin, let's get that sample."

"Thanks guys," Robin said, following Cyborg into the hall. They went to the lab and took his blood. "Think you can help me?"

Cyborg put the blood sample in a machine that showed the components and their percentage. "I'm sure we can. Who helped you before anyway?"

Robin swallowed. He was hoping to avoid that question. "Now don't freak, but Slade found me after I got chased by that dog catcher."

Cyborg's normal eye was wide. "You let that maniac help you?"

Robin sweat dropped. "He wouldn't let me go. He was determined to find the cure and then he would let me go. Once we got the fur, paws, and muzzle gone, he tried to cure me entirely but was unsuccessful. So then he let me go."

Cyborg sighed. "I hate to admit, but if Slade can't do it, then I doubt we can." He laced his fingers together and then popped them. "Well, we better get started then. You should get some clothes on."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Robin said with a smile. He headed for the door. "Let me know if you figure it out."

Robin left and went to his room. He dug around his dresser for civilian clothes, knowing that he wouldn't be leaving the tower any time soon. He did put a new mask back on though. Yes his friends knew his identity, but he felt better with it on. Robin then went back to the living room and told the Titans that Slade had helped him.

"You should've told us from the beginning," Raven said. "It isn't that big of a deal."

Robin rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Cyborg freaked a bit."

Starfire floated up and started playing with his ears. His tail wagged and he smiled.

"They are so soft. I could pet them all day!"

Robin chuckled. "I wouldn't mind. Oh and tummy rubs are the best! I could use one right now actually."

"What, you didn't ask Slade to do it for you?" Beast Boy asked jokingly.

Robin blushed. "Well when he only managed to get my voice back, I was playing with a smoke bomb dud with my paws and I was tempted to ask him to play fetch."

Beast Boy fell, clutching at his stomach as he rolled around on the floor and laughed. "Haha, d-dude…f-fetch? Now th-that's funny, hahaha!"

Robin growled lightly. "It wasn't my fault!" Starfire and Raven laughed. Robin sat down with his arms folded over his chest. His ears fell back as he glared at them. "It's not funny." Everyone recovered and then began to do some chores. Robin used his tail to sweep the dust off the table. His tail suddenly began to itch. "I need a flea collar."

Falling down, he attacked the base of his tail with his fangs. Raven stopped to observe him with a quirked eyebrow.

"What _are_ you doing?"

Robin stopped in surprise and looked up at her. "Biting at fleas," he said casually. He quickly stood up. "That's the biggest problem with this tail. The fleas love it too much."

"We'll have to make flea gel to kill them then," she said. "I'll let Cyborg know."

Robin smiled. "Thanks, Rae."

"You're welcome."

Raven vanished. Beast Boy finished the dishes and then sat on the couch. Robin joined him, his tail wagging. Beast Boy chuckled.

"Fun huh?"

Robin blushed. "Sorta. I wouldn't mind the fleas being gone though."

There was a pause.

"So what did it feel like?" Beast Boy soon asked. "You know, the running and being chased thing?"

Robin remembered that chase as though it happened yesterday. "It was fun! When I jumped off the dumpster to escape the alley, I felt like I was actually flying. It felt great!"

"Hehe, I bet," Beast Boy said with a grin. "That part is always fun. Feeling the wind through your fur is wonderful too."

Robin yawned. "Y-Yeah…" Deciding he wanted a nap, Robin curled up into a ball on the couch. "Wake me up at dinner please."

Beast Boy smiled. "You got it dude."

Yawning again, Robin closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A week had passed and there still was no cure. They tracked down Ivy and even she didn't know the antidote. So Robin was stuck with a tail and ears. He actually didn't mind it. He felt a new strength in him.

"Well, guess I can't fight Slade ever again," he joked.

"Why's that?" Beast Boy asked.

"I told him the next time we met, the ears and tail would be gone," Robin said, his tail wagging. "Maybe it'll wear off eventually."

"Let us hope so," Raven said. "The last battle we had was kind of embarrassing."

Robin's ears fell. "It's not my fault I saw that squirrel. He was so tempting."

"Well, until we can teach your brain that it's _bad_, then you can't go out to fight villains anymore," Raven said.

Robin sighed. "I guess so." He suddenly got up. "I'll be in the gym." Robin left the main room. He did the usual exercises and ran around the large room ten times. Then he got on the treadmill and was able to run as high as it would go. After a break, Robin decided he wanted to experience that flying feeling again. He got up on a bunch of crates filled with other equipment and then backed all the way into the wall. "Okay, time to fly."

Robin was about to run when the door into the gym opened. He stopped mid-step. The Titans entered.

"What are you doing up there?" Starfire asked.

Robin chuckled. "I'm going to fly."

"Wait a minute, what?"

Robin paid no heed to Raven's protests as he ran towards the edge and then jumped off. The Titans stared in disbelief as he practically flew all the way across the room. Placing his legs and arms out in front of him, Robin landed on all fours, his tail erect. It fell and then wagged. He stood up and saw the surprised look on his friends' faces. His ears folded down.

"What?"

"Dude…" Beast Boy said in a daze. "That was wicked awesome!" He threw his arms up in the air. "You made it past the middle of the room!"

Robin grinned. "Yeah, it was fun too." He turned around. "I'm going to do that again."

All the Titans looked at each other. Robin got to the top of the crates and began again.

"I'm worried about him," Raven said quietly. "He's not himself."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Cyborg said. "Though he looks happier than he has in a long time."

"Then we should not worry about Robin," Starfire said. "If it makes him happy-"

"He's acting like a puppy!" Raven interrupted, speaking louder than she meant to. "We have to-!"

Stopping, they all turned around and saw Robin standing behind them, his ears down and his tail hanging limp.

"I'm sorry," he said sadly. "If I'm such a bother, I can-"

Cyborg shook his hands in front of him. "No man! You're not a bother! Raven didn't mean it."

"Yes, you must not feel guilt," Starfire said.

"Yeah, we're just a little concerned is all," Beast Boy said. "I mean, you're not acting like yourself."

Robin looked at all of them a few times before looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry."

Raven gave him an apologetic look. "I should be sorry." Robin looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes. "It's just…seeing you like this is kind of bad. If you have the mind of a wolf, then at some point you could hurt one of us. It would be in your nature if provoked."

Robin nodded. "I know what you're saying. But if you train me, then everything will be okay… Right?"

Raven smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure it will."

Robin smiled, his tail wagging. "Then we should start now!"

"Yes, we should," Starfire said with a smile. "We will be there for you, friend."

Robin closed his eyes and smiled. Maybe this new life wouldn't be so bad after all…

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	2. Mother Nature Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Tis my birthday today—the 31st, which is almost over—so I decided to update. Regular updates will start as planned on the 17th/18th of this month

* * *

**Five Months Later…**

"I think he went this way."

"You need your damn eyes checked! He went this way! Jesus!"

Two men, concealing guns in their jackets, ran past a dark alley littered with trash and grime. At the dead end, a trash can shuddered. A shadow made its way towards the opening. A clawed hand gripped the side of the building. Then an ear, on top of a black-head of hair, twitched a few times as it searched for any more sounds that it didn't like. A chuckle resounded around the alley soon after.

"Morons. You can't catch this wolf."

Pushing away from the wall, Robin ran down the sidewalk, his fluffy, red wolf tail bouncing with each step. He had been heading for the bay when the two men found him and chased him. They had been pretty slow, which is how he was able to get away. Not to mention he was faster and more agile since being turned into a wolf. Jumping across rooftops was way easier now. Hell, he could even climb walls like Spiderman just by jumping from one wall of a building to the next.

Robin soon reached the bay. By now, the Titans would be out eating pizza, which gave him enough time to take a shower, gather a few new supplies, and then get back to the streets before they returned. Instead of taking the secret passage, he quickly swam across. Once he reached the other side, he shook his body like a canine before standing up and walking to the tower. He reached the elevator and got in. It rose up in just a few seconds, reaching the main floor. Robin stepped inside and headed for the double doors. Reaching his room, he walked right in and went to get clean clothes from his dresser. He showered quickly, got dressed, and was in the process of loading a backpack when a female voice made him jump and then freeze.

"Robin, what are you doing here?"

Robin slowly turned around and saw Raven in his doorway. His ears fell back and his tail drooped. "I-I know I'm not welcome here after what I _accidentally_ did to Beast Boy, but I ran out of some important stuff and decided to come by while everyone was gone. I was going to leave right away." Raven stared silently at him. "I was chased today by men with guns by the way. I needed at least an hour to get my strength back. So the only place I could think of was here. The second I grab some food, I'm going back out there. Really, I promise."

Raven nodded. "I understand. I wasn't feeling well today, so I didn't go with the others for dinner."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Robin said. "I hope you feel better."

"Don't worry, I will." There was a pause. "I'll take you back to the city. The Titans will be back any minute."

Robin smiled. "Thanks Rae." After he packed up again with some snacks, juice and water, and clean clothes, Raven teleported him to an alley. "Well, take care of yourselves."

"You as well," Raven said. "If those men go after you again, you should escape the city."

Robin nodded, smiling slightly. "I might do that."

Raven nodded. "You should actually find someone similar to you that won't get hurt easily. Maybe make some new friends in new places. Besides, a city isn't the place for someone like you."

Robin blinked, not showing his true emotions. "Yeah, maybe…"

Raven smiled softly at him. "Good-bye, Robin. Take care."

Raven teleported away. Robin stared at the spot where she once stood with a smile for a little while longer before it fell. Sighing and ears falling, he headed out of the alley and down the street. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, ignoring any and all stares sent his way. His backpack rested heavily against his back. He scratched behind one of his ears briefly, trying to decide where to get some grub. As he was about to stop at a fish market, he heard a man yell, "There he is! Get him!"

Whipping his head around, Robin saw the two men from before. Holding his backpack straps tightly with his hands, he began to run down the street. They chased after him, finally whipping out their guns. They started to fire tranquilizer bullets right at him. They were like paint balls so there wouldn't be bloodshed, but Robin wasn't going to find that out. He was going to avoid getting hit _period_.

"I have to get out-of-town now," he said miserably.

Robin made his way for the end of town where the large, reinforced wooden drawbridge was down, laying across a ravine with water. It was a small river, but it rushed so fast that crossing the water itself wasn't wise. A quarter of a mile from it sat the mechanism that drew up the bridge in case a disaster struck in the city itself. This prevented outsiders from entering until the disaster passed and it made citizens unable to leave if they weren't evacuated first.

Stuffing his arm into a pocket on the side of his backpack, Robin yanked out a bird-a-rang and chucked it at the mechanical device. The pointed end struck the large red button perfectly, destroying it. The bridge began to slowly rise from the middle. Pulling the straps tight around his shoulders and arms, Robin became flexible at the knees as he began to run on all fours, picking up speed. Bullets whizzed right by him. The men were yelling, but Robin paid no heed. All he cared about was getting out and leaving them in.

"We have him now! That money will soon be ours!"

That got Robin's attention. They wanted him for money? That could mean one of two things: scientists heard about him and wanted to run tests on him _or_ he was wanted as a pet for someone who heard of his drastic change.

_'So I'm some kind of reward for the ones who capture me.' _

That didn't matter though; Robin was almost free. The bridge was fully drawn up now, leaving a wide gap at the top. The water rushed underneath, crashing harshly against the bank. Once he was a few feet from it, he used all the strength in his bare feet to push off and jump towards the top. The two men slid to a stop, their eyes wide in amazement. Robin dug his feet against the side of the bridge while his hands gripped the top. His claws left fairly good-sized holes as they dug deep into the wood. Without hesitating even a second, he pulled his body up, stayed at the top like a frog for a second, and then jumped straight across to the other side and out of sight. The two men ran to the side and looked around it to see Robin dangling there.

Remembering what they were supposed to be doing, one of the men started firing. By the time the second could shoot, Robin pulled himself up and over, falling towards the other side quickly. He landed in a crouch, but didn't waste any time to run towards the trees and into the darkness. The two men cursed and were yelling at each other, both insulting the other for letting a boy get away. Once that was done, the taller of the two whipped out a black walkie-talkie while the other ranted at himself. He pushed the button on the side and spoke into it.

"Sir, the brat got away."

He released the button and a new voice, one calm and deep, said, _"Well isn't that an inconvenience."_ There was a pause. _"Where is he now?"_

"He escaped into the forest," the man said. His partner was examining the river. "We were unsuccessful in rendering him disabled, sir."

"Tell him we can't get across from here!"

_"I heard."_

There was a jeep packed with traveling equipment next to a tall, black-haired man, talking on a walkie-talkie. He had on safari-like gear, with pockets in the black jacket, the pants in camouflage. The bottoms were tucked into his black boots. Rifles were strapped over his shoulders along with hunting knives on his sides and a strap filled with real bullets over his chest. He had dark brown eyes and stubble around his mouth, indicating that it was recently shaved quickly. A cigarette was lit in between his fingers, smoke rising from it.

_"_A few miles from the bridge is where the river is calm. I'm on the opposite side already. Hurry over here or your heads will be the next thing mounted on my wall at home."

_"Yes sir. We're on our way."_

The man put the walkie-talkie in a compartment on his belt before putting the butt end of his cig into his mouth. Taking a final drag, he flicked it from his fingers and then stomped it with his toes. He got in the jeep, slammed the door shut, and waited.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

Yeah, it's short, sue me :p The dude is a bad guy, but he isn't the main villain. He's just a subordinate. The boss is an OC, who is kind of a dick. Okay, he's a BIG dick, but that won't be shown for a while

In suspense yet? Any guesses on what they want with our wolf Titan? You'll possibly be surprised once you find out. Enjoy the story and take care!


	3. Mother Nature Chapter 3

**VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE! PLEASE READ IT!  
**

Okay, so I know some people HATE reading author notes or are just too lazy because they want to read the story instead, but most of the time I add important info in author notes. In the first chapter I clearly stated how the fic would be updated. It would have regular updates on Fridays-Saturdays (depending where you live) unless stated otherwise starting the 17-18th of August (today) I had a reviewer who added "update soon?" to their review (which is fine since they added more than that) so I had to explain that every weekend it would be updated. That person wouldn't have had to do ask if they read the first author note. So please don't ask me to "update soon" because its a waste of your time since its updated every weekend and I generally don't like it when people do that anyway (I find it very rude, even though you might not think so) So please, read author notes. They're not always long and boring (and I rarely add them anyway) Just please consider that next time ;)

With that cleared up, please enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

* * *

After running for hours, Robin finally stopped, panting heavily with his tongue hanging out. He gripped a tree trunk with his clawed hands, resting his forehead against it.

"Phew, that was close," he muttered. Tilting his head back, he took a deep breath and then grinned. "Like I said, can't catch this wolf!" Stepping away from the tree, Robin scratched the back of his head. "I can't go back there. Where to now?" Robin thought about it while kicking a rock with his toes. He stopped his next kick when it came to him. "Alaska! There are wolves there!" It was about time for a road trip, he decided. "I'll be appreciated there I think."

Deciding he would do this, Robin headed further into the forest. The best course to take was going through the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington and heading on from there. Robin wouldn't stop unless he was _really_ tired. If he kept going without rest, he'd be in Alaska in about two and a half weeks. Robin felt good about this. Besides, it would be nice to get away from what he had known for a few years and begin something new. Robin was looking forward to this trip.

Meanwhile, back beyond the bridge of Jump City, an off-road jeep was moving through the forest at a slow pace, as not to destroy anything or leave behind evidence that they had been through. It was supposed to rain soon, so tracks would be gone before anyone noticed. Smoke was coming out of the driver window. The man that had been smoking a cigarette before was driving it, a cig hanging out of the corner of his mouth while he held the steering wheel with his right hand. One of the men that had been chasing Robin was sitting next to him, checking a map in his lap and marking places with a pen.

"There are a few places he could go, sir. The closest place is the Cascade Mountains and then Canada. Though who knows, he may fancy Alaska or the North Pole."

The driver inhaled and then blew out the smoke from his nose. "The Cascade Mountains will be our first priority then."

"Yes sir."

The driver glanced at his tired companion. "Get some rest, Trip. We have a long voyage ahead."

Trip put his map away, ran his hand over his face, and then leaned back to sleep. He tilted his hat down to cover his eyes.

"Night sir."

* * *

Robin stretched and yawned as he walked through the forest in the dim moonlight. He licked his slightly bloody lips again, having just finished eating a juicy rabbit. His body was used to raw meat and fresh blood now. For another hour he walked on silently, his mind slowly building up the feeling of loneliness. His ears dipped and his shoulders slumped. Robin then sighed.

"What I wouldn't do for a friend right now…" he muttered.

Robin soon reached a clearing. The crescent moon shone down dimly, casting the area in shadows. The grass was thicker here. Suddenly, when he stepped down on a soft spot, several bugs flew into the air. Robin stopped and watched as they lit up. Looking around, he saw hundreds of fireflies fluttering around him. He soon felt his mood being lifted while they flew around him like a whirlwind. Lifting his hands as he held them together, one halfway on top of the other, a whole bunch landed on his fingers. A smile appeared on Robin's face. This was beyond beautiful. The fireflies soon started to leave, their lights dimming. Robin lowered his arms and watched them fly away. Feeling better, he continued on his way, heading for the mountains.

By one the next day, Robin made it to Berkeley, California. He was continuing north to Oregon before turning east toward Idaho. If he kept going without rest or distractions, he'd be across the Oregon border by tomorrow morning. He kept a close ear and eye out in case his shooters returned. As he walked down the street, a few people glanced at him, not sure if they saw him right. Robin tried his best to ignore them, but he felt worry grip him. Who knew if his change had been private or posted all over the world.

Growling lightly, Robin ignored a bunch of teenagers on skateboards as they moved past him from both sides. If any of them teased him… One kid got so distracted that he rode into a street sign. Robin glanced behind him to make sure he was alright. The teen got up, rubbing his head.

"I must be seeing things."

Robin quickly looked away, hearing him.

"Hurry up David!"

Robin turned into an alley and waited for a few minutes. That had been a very close one. Taking a deep breath, he glanced around the building before stepping out and heading further up the street. A few minutes later and a sign to the highway pointed him in the right direction. People bustled around, trying to get places. Most people were driving. Robin hoped they wouldn't see him, get distracted, and get into any accidents. He didn't want anything to be his fault. That was the downfall for not getting a full cure for his _problem_. Beast Boy had gotten hurt because of a mistake he had made. He never should have roughhoused with him.

Robin was now to the Exit. The forest trees had been mauled over to make way for more buildings along the road. Construction was going on, making the loud sound of machinery hurt his ears. He forced them down to drown at least some of it out. After a mile longer, Robin made it past the horrible noises and into the safety of the trees. He shook his head to get the buzzing out of his ears. The sound of cars driving by was dimming and Robin was more at peace then he had been.

"Dangnabit, another smelly human," a grumpy old male voice said out of nowhere. Robin stopped and looked to his right, seeing a badger ambling on through the grass. He stared at him with wide eyes. "They can never leave us woodland creatures alone. Them and all their racket and making those strange boxes with different colors. Can't stand them, can't stand them at all."

The badger passed in front of Robin. "Did you just talk?" he asked.

The badger stopped, jumping. He turned to Robin and noticed his ears. "You are a strange looking human. You don't exactly smell like one either."

Robin was really weirded out by this. "And you're still talking."

"Well of course I am. All animals can talk," the badger said. "Humans aren't the only ones. They're just too stubborn and close-minded to hear us. They just don't take the time to enjoy the nature Mother gave them. Not to mention they are ruining our land with their boxes and monsters lurking about."

Robin lowered himself onto his hands and knees, staring at the badger closely. "They're called buildings. And monsters? Don't you mean cars?"

The badger growled. "Or whatever humans call them." He sounded very grouchy. "Now please, tell me, what kind of human are ya?"

"The only kind there is," Robin said, sitting down like a canine.

"Then what do you call those things on top of yer head?" the badger asked, pushing up with his front paws to point at the ears with his nose.

Lifting his gaze, Robin lifted his hand, grabbed the tip of his right ear, and tugged on it. "Oh, well, I've had them so long I forget that they're really there." He looked back at the badger. "I should say I _was_ a normal human, but then I was hit by some gas and got turned into a wolf. I managed to look human again but I still have the tail, ears, and fangs and claws of a wolf. I'm on my way to Alaska."

"You mean the snow-lands?" Robin nodded, his ears flopping. "I heard the humans are worse there. There are wolf killing activists all over the place. Cougars and birds are targeted as well. If I were you, I would go somewheres else." The badger shook his body before turning around and walking away. "Be careful out there, strange human."

Robin blinked while he watched the badger stalk away. He slowly stood up, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked discouraged. His tail wrapped tightly around his waist. Taking a deep, sighing breath, he turned and continued on his way. Elsewhere, twenty miles away, the jeep was parked in front of a restaurant. They were eating lunch inside at the counter. The leader was putting his cigarette out outside. Going back in, he joined Trip and his comrade.

"So I think we should stay on the major highway heading north," Trip said, drinking his coffee.

"He'll be sticking to the woods," the other man said. "At least that's what I would do." He turned to their boss. "What do you think, Clay?"

The man, Clay, put money on the counter. "If we stay on the highway, we'll stay ahead of him. He will be staying close to both the road and the trees. He will eventually go back to another town if he needs supplies. If he plans on going to the mountains, we can cut him off and ambush him." Clay stood up. "We're burning daylight. Let's go."

Trip left a tip, finished off his coffee and then followed Clay. "Hurry up Jesse."

The third man, Jesse, followed his comrades, saying good-bye to the waitress who had given him her number. Returning to the jeep, they got in and headed back for the highway.

* * *

The sound of steadily moving water resounded around a clearing with a creek that led into a river. Fish were swimming around, pecking at food on the rocks with their lips. Crouching by the edge, Robin watched a fish swimming close-by him, waiting for the right moment to catch it. Once it turned its back, he swiped at it with his claws. The fish was sent flying into the air. Landing, it flopped around helplessly, trying to go back to the creek. Going over to it, Robin stepped down on its tail. The slippery fish flew forward several feet. Growling, Robin walked over to it, reached down, and then picked it up with both clawed hands. The fish stared at him with a large, beady eye, its tail moving desperately. Moving one hand up towards its head, Robin squeezed the life out of it. The tail soon stopped and the fish was still. Crouching on the ground, he dropped it and used a claw to make a cut along its body. Blood gushed out, staining the grass. Once the fish was cut in half, he took out its guts and skeleton. Turning the skin inside-out, he bent it in half and began chewing at the meat.

Five minutes later and Robin was licking his lips. Crouching by the remaining pieces of the fish, he dug a hole and dumped the guts and bones in. He buried them before going to the creek and washing his hands and face. Robin then took a drink, cupping his hands to pick up the liquid. Once finished, he grabbed his backpack, placed it over his shoulders, and then continued on his way.

Robin scratched his right ear with fast, up and down movements of his hand. The feeling of loneliness was still there. He hadn't come across any other animals except birds and the fish. Not even a squirrel was scurrying up a tree.

_'They're probably hiding from me because I look like a human.'_

Deciding that maybe exercising would help get his mind off things, Robin tightened his backpack straps and bent his knees, his joints shifting into alignment. With a burst of inhuman speed, he ran through the thicket of trees. He weaved in and out to try and confuse anyone that was searching for him and then sometimes back tracked to make a new path. He no longer wanted to take chances with anyone. The wind whipped through his hair and against his face, helping to calm him. Once he was sure his path was distracting, he bolted in a straight, sometimes moving left and right, line.

Two hours later and Robin made it to the next town. He decided to move through quickly as not to attract attention. His plan came to an end when he heard sirens. Stopping, Robin looked over his shoulder and saw fire trucks and cop cars zooming down the street. Cars in front were quickly pulling over to allow them passage. They soon turned a corner and out of sight. Robin sniffed the air. The thick smell of smoke entered his nostrils, making him sneeze. Shaking his head, he ran down the street and turned the corner that the trucks and cars had turned onto.

Robin's eyes widened when he saw a tall, brick apartment building with licking flames and dark smoke clouds coming out of the windows. Firemen started coming out of the fire trucks, grabbed hoses, connected them to fire hydrants, and started to attack the flames with water. People were standing around, watching the disaster. Rescuers were forcing their way into the building to see if anyone was left behind. Robin's ears fell when he saw one carry out a little boy covered in black soot a few minutes later.

Robin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his fingers twitching. Growling lightly, he ran into an alley, set his backpack behind a dumpster to keep it hidden, and then ran at the wall in front of him. He jumped up, placed his foot against the brick, and pushed off. He made his way up by pushing against one building to the next and back again. Once to the top of the first building, he ran across more rooftops, heading for the burning building.

"Hey! Kid!" Robin glanced over and saw a cop staring at him. "Get down from there!" Ignoring him, Robin looked away and saw the next building, which was higher up and slightly farther away. Picking up speed, he ran to the edge and pushed off as hard as he could. "Holy-!"

Robin managed to make it to the next roof, unscathed. Some people were now watching him as he made it to the burning apartment building. Seeing an open window with heavy smoke coming out of it, he jumped and started to fall. He grabbed the window's ledge and pulled himself in, bracing his eyes against the smog. Landing on the floor, Robin looked around. The smoke was thick and the flames were worse inside than out. He sniffed the air, trying to locate any human scents. Coughing a few times, he crouched low and made his way out of the apartment he had landed in. Wood fixtures fell from the ceiling, crashing into the floor noisily. Robin walked out the door and entered the hallway. After looking in both directions, he peered over the staircase railing. The bottom floor was far down, possibly thirty stories. Coughing again, he lowered his body to the floor and started to crawl.

For the next ten minutes, Robin sniffed each room and was almost halfway down. So far, there hadn't been too strong of human scents around. He was now running down the next flight of stairs. His right arm suddenly crashed through a step, making him hit his chin on the next one down. He carefully pulled it out of the hole and looked through. Robin's eyes widened. The wood from the bottom of the step almost crashed right on top of a huddled mass. The scent of a baby entered his nose. Thinking quickly, Robin jumped over the railing and landed on the next one. He stepped over it and approached the blanket. With delicate care, he pulled it away and saw a baby inside, crying and wailing. The sound of creaking suddenly reached Robin's ears to his right. Looking up at the landing, he saw the flames burning away the railing. The staircase he was on suddenly plummeted down a few feet, making him fall. Without thinking twice, he wrapped the baby's face and then picked him up, attempting to go down the stairs quickly. The staircase plummeted again and the railing suddenly fell over the edge. Robin gripped the baby tight and turned around as he jumped down towards the railing. He landed with his knees bent. The floor gave way from the hard landing. Robin quickly jumped away before he could fall straight through and continued down the stairs.

More, louder creaking resounded around the burning building. Looking up, Robin saw the top of the building start to collapse. Not wanting to get caught in rubble, he jumped over the railing, falling straight for the bottom floor. He held the baby close to his chest as he rolled into a ball and awaited the impact. His body crashed painfully into the floor, making him growl. The baby wailed louder, hurting Robin's ears. Slowly rolling back onto his feet, he stumbled his way towards the front door. Something suddenly exploded behind him, the explosion forcing him out the flaming doorway. People were shouting as he lay on the wet concrete. Two firefighters ran over to help him and the baby. Robin handed him over as he began to stand.

"Christ kid, you scared the living hell out of everyone," the second firefighter said. "Are you alright?"

Robin coughed and shook his head, soot flying off his head and ears. "Yeah, I'm fine." His tail suddenly jerked around. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the tip on fire. "My tail's on fire though."

"I was going to ask you about that," the firefighter said. Licking his hand, Robin grabbed the tip of his tail and extinguished the flame. "Come with me."

A sense of overwhelming suddenly overcame Robin. The firefighter started walking towards the police. Without a second's hesitation, Robin turned and ran back towards the alley. He heard the firefighter and a policeman shouting after him. Going back into the alley, Robin picked up his backpack, slung it around his shoulders and ran farther in. He jumped onto a dumpster, leaped onto the dead end wall, and jumped down to the other side. Getting back up, he ran, heading for the highway.

* * *

"Looks like there was a horrendous fire in the city we just passed," Trip said, listing to the news on his headset. He listened in on more. "Looks like we're catching up."

Clay looked at him. "Meaning?"

Unplugging the headset from the radio jack, Trip turned up the volume.

_"So you're saying a strange boy with ears and a tail came out with a baby in his arms?" _the reporter asked.

_"Yes, that's correct," _a man said._ "__I'm a friend of a police officer in Medford, Oregon and he told me about some of the kids he's been arresting lately. A few days after capture, they were shipped off somewhere else. No one knows where. This kid was all alone and I was hoping he could tell me, but he bolted seconds after I headed toward a police officer."_

Trip turned off the radio. "Let's hope no one finds out those kids have been getting kidnapped by bounty hunters and shipped by dirty cops."

"Which is why we're trying to catch the wolf kid," Clay said. "He's the first to be turned and more valuable."

"It sounds like he doesn't want people finding out about him though," Jesse said from the back seat. "Why else would he have run?"

Clay turned back to the road. "We'll know once we capture him."

Elsewhere, Robin sneezed, scaring birds out of a tree. There was so much soot in his nose that it made him sneeze every few minutes. He sighed, sounding congested.

"Stupid heroic instincts," he muttered. Robin was suddenly very tired. He hadn't slept in a few days. "Gotta find a well hidden shelter."

Taking a deep breath, Robin began his search.

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Mother Nature Chapter 4

We meet a new character in this chapter. I think you'll like him—he's a bit different from what I've written before and he plays a future role, so I hope he's to people's liking :)— BTW, where Robin is at is my hometown. I'm not an expert on it, but I know what things look like when you get off the highway, so it'll be pretty accurate. So enjoy :)

**SladinForever**

* * *

After two days of walking, Robin was nearing Grants Pass, Oregon. The weather there was cold, cloudy, and raining off and on. Robin didn't mind getting a little wet, but he was fairly chilled from the biting wind. He decided to go into town and buy some clothes to keep warm. Besides, he really wanted a toilet to use. Right off the Exit, there were a few restaurants and stores not far away. He made sure no one was close-by as he reached a Denny's. Once the coast was clear, he entered stealthily and went through the hall to reach the bathrooms. Only one stall was being used. To make sure no one saw him if they entered, he went in one, used the bathroom, and then quickly washed his hands before leaving.

Knowing he couldn't hide forever in a big town like this, Robin was cautious. He didn't know if people here had Meta Humans like him or if they were well known. He didn't want people to freak out if they saw his ears and tail. In the distance to his left, Robin saw a Walmart sign. He had at least seventy-five dollars on him. Hopefully he could buy a jacket and at least a hat to cover his ears. Looking both ways, Robin saw that he could cross from where he was if he jogged. He was on a sidewalk on a one-way, five-lane street, the cars coming from his left. He reached the other side in seconds and headed for the store.

Ten minutes later and he entered Walmart through the garden section. Robin glanced around, saw that no one was looking, and went further in. He soon reached the clothing section, which was between the grocery section and office supplies and car equipment. Going to the teen's racks, he found a black sweatshirt for sixteen dollars. It took Robin a little while to find where baseball caps were. He grabbed a black Starter hat for ten and then proceeded to the checkouts. Not many of the registers were open and the lines were fairly long. At least five or six per line. His best bet was the ten items or less rows, so he went there. Robin glanced around, watching the people walk around the store. A few minutes later and his items rang up. The cashier smiled at him after getting the full price.

"That'll be twenty-six dollars." Robin pulled out some cash from his backpack and then handed it to her. "Have a great day."

Robin left hurriedly after grabbing his bag and headed towards the center of the city. Stopping at a small hut-like building called Dutch Bros, he took off the tags and then threw the bag away. He pulled the sweater on and forced his ears inside the hat. Going to a parked car, he looked in the mirror. A sweat drop fell down his temple. Robin looked strange without normal human ears attached to his head where the rim of the hat rested on.

"Well this sucks."

Growling low, Robin took off the hat, grew out a claw, and made slits for his ears to go through. He may as well hide his identity at least, he decided. When he was finally ready to head towards the opposite Exit, he started on his way. To plan the fastest route, he pulled out a map and looked at it. The other Exit, that was all the way across town, would take forty minutes to reach, thirty if he ran for a while. He needed to get on sixth street and go all the way down it. Then he had to cross a bridge, pass a park, and go up to the freeway. Robin checked other cities and rivers close to this city. The next town after that was Roseburg and then Eugene. He had to stay on Interstate 5 if he wanted to go up into Canada and then to Alaska.

_'Is there such a thing as Canadian wolves?'_

Maybe Canada was a better idea than Alaska. Robin was fairly bored with all of this traveling alone since it had been a week since leaving Jump. Once he was satisfied with his route, he put his map away and walked down the sidewalk, his hands in his jacket pockets. Vehicles zoomed right past him. Robin almost wished someone saw him and said something. His ears fell the longer he walked. He soon reached the end of the street where the two sets of lanes crossed over each other. He had to wait at the crosswalk for almost two minutes. The machine turned from a red hand to a walking white person. Wanting to get to his destination faster, Robin ran across, tightening his backpack straps.

For the next ten minutes, he ran on the sidewalk, the sun peaking in through the gray clouds. He soon reached another crosswalk after running in a curve for seven minutes. From his left, a boy on a skateboard was crossing. Robin ignored him as he flew past him from behind. Glancing over, he saw him turn the corner. There were two ways he could go: stay going straight or follow the skateboarder. Either way, it would take him to the same place. In the end, Robin decided to go straight. It seemed faster anyway.

For another fifteen minutes he ran. The sidewalk had ended a little ways back, so he was now running next to the ditches on the side of the road. Drivers continued to ignore him. He soon made it to the Exit. He ran past a Bi-Mart when he slowed to a walk, breathing heavily. Alongside him were a few antique-looking shops, places where Rednecks could buy stuff. Then there were the usual fast food restaurants, banks, and two grocery stores side-by-side on the left of him, far across the way. Soon, a YMCA came into view along with a horse racing track. It was empty and muddy. Robin glanced at it and then ignored it, but did a double take. Stopping and turning, he saw someone on the track, walking leisurely. Curiosity getting the better of him, Robin made his way to the fence that bordered the freeway and track.

On the track was a teen with short, spiked, brown hair. His eyes were a clouded green and claw mark scars passed over them. He wore a black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and white skate shoes with half-untied black laces. Two belts crossed each other on his waist, both with silver buckles. His hands were in his jean pockets, his posture relaxed. The boy stopped abruptly.

"What do you want?"

Robin stopped mid-step, a look of surprise on his face. He had been silent this whole time. "Sorry, I just saw you down here by yourself and-" The teen turned to him. "Oh, so that's how you knew I was there."

The teen's eyes narrowed slightly. "_What_ do you _want_?" he asked again.

Robin scratched his left ear. "I felt something strange coming off you so I came to see what it was. Curiosity got the better of me. You're not a _normal_ human, are you?"

The teen snorted angrily. "Whatever that awful noise your making is, knock it off." Robin blinked in confusion. He stopped scratching his ear, dropping his hand down sharply. "You're not normal either, are you?" Robin nodded, forgetting already that the kid was blind. "I figured as much."

Robin's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't-"

"I heard your head bob up and down. I am, as you have realized, blind. That doesn't mean you will beat me."

"Huh-?" The teen thrust his hand forward. Without even touching him, Robin flew back, crashing into the mud. His backpack was covered in it as he sat up, growling. "What was that for?"

"I'm challenging you," the teen said. "A fight to the death."

Robin scrambled up and back, throwing his backpack aside. "What did I ever do to you?"

Lifting his foot, the boy started taking off his shoes. "Nothing…_yet_." He tossed his shoes aside. "Now, prepare to lose your life, wolf."

Robin's eyes widened. "How do you know I'm-?"

Lifting his hands, white streaks swirled around the boy's arms and fingers. "My name is Sam. I have sworn to kill all wolves that ever cross my path. You will be long dead before ever knowing the reason why."

With insane speed, the white streaks uncurled from Sam's arms, flying straight at Robin's chest. He back flipped quickly several times to get away, but they kept on coming. On the final flip, Robin dropped down. When the streaks passed, he placed his hands behind his head and flipped back onto his feet, sliding back a few inches. Sam ran towards him, his brow furrowed in concentration. When he was a foot from Robin, he threw a right punch out. A spiral of white flew out, forcing Robin back into the air. When he landed on his side, he rolled over, getting to his feet.

Sliding to a stop in the dirt, Sam turned, stepping back to dodge a punch. He kneed Robin in the stomach and then quickly lifted his leg, kicking him in the side of the face. Robin flew to the side, crashing into the ground. He looked up as Sam aimed a heel kick to his chest. Growling, Robin rolled forward, dug his hands and feet into the ground, and pushed off hard, spiraling fast sideways. Sam's heel hit the ground where he had been, creating a three-inch deep crater. A bit of dirt flew out from the perimeter. Robin landed on all fours, sliding sideways. Quickly getting up, Sam ran towards him. Standing, Robin jumped back and moved his head in wild directions as he tried hitting him with punches and kicks of air. He let out a loud laugh.

"All of you damn wolves are cowards!"

Feeling insulted, Robin ducked and moved to the side as he turned. Sam slid around right as he started swiping at him with his claws. He blocked the hits with his arms, stepping back only a few times. Robin was so blinded by anger that he didn't see Sam's left fist coming at his temple. White energy surrounded it seconds before it made contact with his head. With a cry of pain, he tripped over his feet and fell to the ground. He bounced and rolled once before stopping on his side. With his eye closed, Robin dug his claws into the ground and started to push up with his hands. He stumbled to his feet, feeling woozy. He placed a hand to the left side of his head, feeling something wet dripping down his cheek from his temple. Blood dripped from Sam's fist. Robin growled at him, trying to figure out what to do. Sam was too fast and it didn't help that his hearing was probably better than his. An idea suddenly popped into Robin's head. He stepped back a few times to distance himself.

"I admit that I can't win. So do me a favor before you kill me: why? Why does me being a wolf make you hate me? I just met you. I haven't done anything to you."

"You want to know?" Sam asked.

"Yeah."

Sam stepped back. "You said you haven't done a thing to me. Well, not yet."

Robin glared at him, forgetting that the left side of his face hurt. "What makes you think I will do anything to you period? I'm trying to get somewhere. When I saw you, I wanted to find out who you were and what you were doing by yourself. I wasn't looking for a fight."

"Because all wolves are the same," Sam said. "They're nothing but cold-blooded killers who don't care about anything but themselves and what they hunt for. They're all beasts."

Robin frowned. "You're wrong."

"Am I? I know from first hand experience the killing nature of these so called 'saints'."

Robin swallowed. "What happened?"

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Six years ago, my entire life was taken from me. My mother passed away quickly after giving birth to me eighteen years ago, so it was just me and my dad. He never remarried. All he could ever want, he had, and that was me. The second I could hold a rifle, I began hunting with him in the woods every hunting season. We hunted deer, elk, and on a rare occasion a bear. One day, my dad and I were out hunting deer, not bothering anything else, when a pack of wolves appeared. My dad told me to run back to the truck when they ran towards us, their fangs exposed. My dad managed to shoot two of them before they mauled him over. I turned back when he screamed. My father's blood covered the wolves' mouths and they began to eat him alive. One of the wolves saw me, while the others continued to eat my father's body, and it attacked me. I still had my rifle and I attempted to shoot it as it tried biting my face. The wolf fell back after the bullet pierced it. Its claws scratched my eyes in the process. I ran blindly as blood spilled from my face, trying to get to the truck. Two other wolves chased me, but I was able to jump into the driver's seat and slam the door shut. I locked it, so the wolves couldn't get in. They attacked the truck, crashing their teeth into the window. I screamed in agony as my eyes burned in pain. My vision blurred and I fell unconscious from blood loss.

"When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed, my face wrapped in bandages. A park ranger had been patrolling and found my dad's bloodied and mangled body. He saw the blood and scratches on the door and window of the truck and came to investigate. The man found me and rushed me to the emergency room. I learned about this about a week later. That was around the same time the doctors told me I would never see again. Those wolves left me to live and bear the memory of my father's brutal murder. When I was strong enough, I ran away and trained myself to hear better than any canine. That's when I discovered I could use the power of the wind at my disposal. For two years I searched for those damned wolves that destroyed me. Every wolf that crossed my path, I killed. I have sworn on my father's grave that I will continue to avenge him.

"So now you know my reasoning. Human or not, I will kill you. Those bastards did not show my father and me mercy and neither will you."

Robin's ears were folded back. "I admit, what they did to you and your dad was terrible; I believe you on that." Sam's eyes narrowed. "But, you can't judge all of them because of a single pack of wolves. I'm going to prove to you that not all wolves are the same."

Sam sneered. "Never trust a wolf. Now, prepare to die."

Sam was about to form a few wind spirals around his hands and arms when Robin jumped high into the air, his right hand poised by his head. With a feral cry, he thrust it towards Sam's face, forcing his palm into his forehead. With full strength, Robin forced his body backwards. Sam crashed on his back, crying out in pain. Robin was crouched beside him, holding his forehead with his hand. Sam's body became lax, his arms sticking a few inches from his body. Breathing deep, Robin slowly stood up straight, staring determinedly down at him.

"H-How…d-did you…?"

"I waited until you started talking before coming towards you," Robin said. "As I talked, I changed the pitch and volume of my voice, making you think I hadn't moved. It didn't take me long to figure out how much my voice needed to change in order to sneak up on you."

Sam growled in anger. "Going to k-kill me then?"

Robin snorted. "Like I said, you can't judge every wolf because of a single pack. Besides," Turning to the side, Robin closed his eyes, "I was born human. My wolf side doesn't overpower me." Walking to his backpack, Robin picked it up with his right hand and slung it over his shoulders. He glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye, his face blank and eyes narrowed. "Just remember that I proved you wrong and we'll be even."

After adjusting his pack, Robin stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away. Sam lay still for a long time, his face void of emotion. Blood tears formed in his tear ducts. His fingers dug into the dirt as he curled his hands into fists.

_'You will pay for this, wolf.'_

Closing his eyes, Sam drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Robin plopped down by a river's edge, his legs folded under him. He placed his face in his hands, resting his elbows on his thighs. His right ear twitched as the biting wind blew through the forest. It was well past midnight and he was dead tired. His tail wrapped around him.

"Why couldn't I have been turned into a bird?"

An owl hooted off in the distance. Crickets chirped and grasshoppers sang in the tall grass. Robin's eyes slowly closed, but he jerked them open. This happened a few times before he finally decided to find some shelter. There were clumps of bushes around the trees, but none were big enough to hide him. He was just about to give up and sleep out in the open when something caught his eye. Running behind a tree, he peered around it, looking for the thing that had moved. He sniffed the air to pick up any scents. His tail suddenly bristled angrily.

_'Panther!' _

Robin slid down quietly, keeping his body hidden in the grass and lower limbs of the trees. Leaves were stepped on, making a crinkling sound. Then a twig snapped not too far away. Robin's heartbeat quickened. Swallowing, he slid further down, peering around the tree. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the back of a large, white cat a few feet from his hiding place. He jumped when an owl hooted a few trees away. It took flight, flying over the panther. It watched the owl vanish in the darkness, a small growl emanating from its throat. Lowering its head, it started to walk away.

Robin lay in silence for ten minutes before feeling safe again. With a small, tired sigh, he took his backpack off his shoulders and used it as a pillow for his head as he curled up into a tight ball to stay warm. Yawning, Robin closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A jeep pulled into the parking lot in front of the fairgrounds. Three men stepped out, the driver holding a cigarette in his hand as he sucked in the fumes with his mouth. He flicked it before heading for the horse racetracks. They approached Sam, who was sitting on the rail of the stands. He turned his head when the three men stopped underneath him.

"Get down, Sam."

Sam frowned and glared down at them. "I don't take orders from you, Clay. The wolf brat is heading north. I failed to take him down, but he can't be too far. But the more you waste your time talking to me, the farther away he gets. So get out of my sight."

Jesse snorted. "You're blind. Or have you forgotten?" A clod of damp dirt suddenly hit Jesse in the back of the head. He put a hand to it. "Hey!"

"Fuck you, asshole!" Sam said angrily.

"Calm down, Sam," Clay said. "We'll go." Turning around, Clay headed back for the jeep. "We'll be seeing you around kid."

Rubbing the back of his head, Jesse glared at Sam for a few seconds before following Clay. Trip watched them go before turning back to Sam, who finally dropped down. Going into his pocket, Trip pulled out two hundred dollars in twenties and handed it to him.

"Thanks for slowing him down for us, Sam."

Sam snatched the cash, folded it, and then placed it in his pocket. "I'd have gladly killed the little fucker instead."

Trip patted his shoulder and then gently gripped the side of his neck. "I know kid. Take care."

Turning around, Trip headed for the gate. Sam stared in his direction. "…Thanks."

Trip just nodded before jogging away. Sighing, Sam waited for the jeep to pull out of sight before following them at a walk. It was about time to return to his boss.

Meanwhile, Robin was running on all fours. He swore at himself for sleeping in so late. Who knew how far the kidnappers were at this point. They could be right behind him for all he knew.

"Okay, don't think like that."

"The first sign of insanity is when you talk to yourself!"

Tripping, Robin fell on his face, his arms sticking under him and his legs flying up into the air. After they plummeted back down to earth thanks to gravity, he quickly jumped to his feet, looking wildly around.

"What?"

There was a sound of something tapping on wood. "Look behind you, strange animal-hearing human." Robin looked over his shoulder and then up. Sitting on a tree trunk was a woodpecker with a red head. It was using its beak to make a hole in the trunk. "Good, you found me."

Robin stepped forward to get a better look. "I'm not insane. It's just becoming a habit. I've been alone for a while."

The woodpecker stopped to hop around on his branch and look down at him. "Where you heading by yourself?"

Robin shrugged. "I'm either going to Canada or Alaska."

"Oooooh, Canada. Canada is fun! Bunch of hunters there though."

The woodpecker talked very fast, which kind of irritated Robin.

"So I've heard."

"Why go alone? Better to travel in numbers. Best defense that way, yup yup!"

Robin scratched the back of his right ear vigorously. "No one trusts me."

The woodpecker took flight, swooping down towards Robin. He flew around behind him and then landed on his shoulder. Robin glanced at him. "Worried you'll hurt someone?"

"I did once, so yeah," Robin said. "I hurt one of my friends, so I was kicked out of my home and I decided to move somewhere else after I was chased by men with guns. I'm part red wolf so I was going to look for a pack to live with. If they accept me anyway."

The woodpecker preened his wing feathers while he had talked. When he was done, he looked at Robin. "Who knows. Maybe they will. Though, you look pretty weird."

Robin growled lowly, his response sarcastic. "Well thanks."

The woodpecker hopped into the air and started flapping. He made his way back to the tree. "Whelp, good luck! Watch out for the hunters!"

Robin snorted as he watched the bird fly away. Turning, he continued on his way, at a walk this time. It didn't take long for him to become bored again. He sighed, trying to figure out what to do. If he had a book, he would be reading that. Robin's stomach suddenly growled. Not wanting to hunt, he searched through his backpack while he walked. He found a few packs of Oreos, one package of chicken-flavored ramen, half a bottle of drinking water, and, possibly, a rotted apple. Taking that out, he threw it over his shoulder, leaving it for some other bird or a deer. Robin grabbed one of the Oreo packages, placed his backpack back over his shoulders, and tore into the plastic. When he ate Oreos, he used a certain method. He would take one out, twist the cookies in opposite directions, and then eat the one with the filling on it. He normally ate them with a glass of cold milk, but, sadly, he had none.

After the cookies had been devoured, Robin stuffed the trash in his pack and then stretched. As his arms fell, something suddenly zoomed by in between his cheek and forearm. A few drips of blood fell from his cheek, making his eyes widen.

"Finally caught up to you, brat." Robin slowly lowered his arms all the way and then looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide in fear. The two men that had chased him before were behind him, along with a new, much stronger looking fellow. They all had packs and weapons on them. The strongest had black hair and was shouldering a rifle. "Turn around slowly so we can see you properly," he said with a deep voice. Swallowing, Robin slowly turned around. His tail wrapped around his waist tightly and his ear twitched. The man looked him over. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Slowly bending his knees, Robin tensed, his left foot sliding backwards. The other two men aimed their rifles at him. He growled softly at them.

"Who are you and why are you chasing me for money?" he asked, his claws growing on his hands.

"That is classified until we take you to where we have to go," the strong man said. "If you decide to run, we will chase you and hurt you. As for who we are, my name is Clay, the man on my left is Trip and on my right, Jesse. Come quietly and you won't get hurt."

Robin gritted his teeth and growled. It grew in intensity. "I'm not coming _period_."

With fast reflexes, Robin darted to the right, surprising Jesse and Trip but not Clay. He sighed, lowering his rifle from his shoulder.

"Let's go."

Robin glanced back. Jesse and Trip chased after him while Clay turned around and walked off. Growling, Robin adjusted his legs and began running on all fours. He heard the rifles go off. Bullets zoomed by as he swerved to avoid them. Every other minute he made a different turn, but never back tracked. He started running much faster. Luckily, Jesse and Trip had stopped shooting.

Robin suddenly heard something off in the distance behind him on his right. Turning his head, he could barely make out something wide barreling after him. It swerved in and out of trees to avoid hitting them. It suddenly jerked further to the right. Growling, Robin jerked to the left, bounded up a tree quickly, and then gave chase from up there. Jesse and Trip were running in the direction of the jeep. It started coming towards them while still swerving to avoid hitting the trees. Once they were aligned with it, Trip quickly jumped onto the back while Jesse yanked the passenger door open. He jumped in and slammed the door shut. Clay swerved to the right and looked up through the windshield, searching for Robin. A minute later and Trip maneuvered into the back seat, slamming the door shut.

"He's heading towards a cliff that leads up to the highway! It shouldn't be far!"

Back in the trees, Robin looked down and saw the jeep coming towards him. Soon it passed underneath. Stopping, he jumped down and stood up straight, breathing heavily. The jeep was getting further and further away. Sighing heavily in relief, Robin fell onto his rear to take a breather. His ears suddenly perked up. Slowly lifting his head, he saw the jeep coming back, driving straight towards him. Growling, Robin jumped to his feet, positioned his joints again, and then ran right at it. Jesse's eyes widened in the passenger seat.

"That brat wants to play Chicken!"

"Get your rifle ready then," Clay said. "If the mutt wants to play a suicide game, then we'll play."

Quickly rolling the window of his door down, Jesse stood up, positioned himself on the hood of the jeep, and then aimed his rifle at Robin. He took careful aim while using his scope, waited a few seconds, and then fired. The bullet flew straight at Robin's left shoulder. He dodged to the right, the bullet hitting the ground and leaving a light blue mark behind on a tree. Within seconds the gap between him and the jeep was fifty feet, then forty feet, and then thirty. Jesse fired another bullet, but missed as Robin dodged. Once they were only ten feet apart, he quickly pushed off high into the air. Jesse fired a bullet right at him, but he quickly ran up over the roof, rolled forward, and then took a giant leap right off the back of the jeep.

"Did you fucking see that?!"

"No!" Clay and Trip shouted at the same time, sounding annoyed instead of disappointed.

Jesse quickly got back in right as Clay swerved in a circle to face the opposite direction. Robin was almost just a shadow as he neared the end of a rocky hill. Clay hit the gas hard and they continued the chase. The trees started to diminish in numbers the closer they were to reaching him. The grass also started to disappear with nothing but dirt left behind. Robin saw that the ground was about to end. Looking beyond that, he saw the rocky cliff that Trip mentioned a few minutes before. Thinking that this was his big break to escape these men, he ran even faster. The jeep was still managing to keep up, but it wasn't getting much closer. The end of the deep, dropping hill was only one hundred or so feet away. Robin could already taste his victory.

"I think he's going to jump, Clay!" Trip shouted from the middle of the front seats.

"Che! Jesse, hold the wheel!"

Clay started to rise from his seat while Jesse grabbed the steering wheel and tried to hold it steady. Throwing open his door, Clay stood up, grabbed his rifle, and took careful aim. Robin was almost to the end of the hill, his strength flowing full force to the back of his legs. He was a few feet to the right of the jeep, giving Clay a clear shot of his left side. Holding his thumb on the trigger, he looked through his scope, aimed a little higher than his initial target, and fired.

Robin heard the bang right as he started to jump off the top of the hill. He flew forward several feet in the air, his legs facing straight down and his arms bent at the elbow beside him. He started to descend towards the rocks right as the bullet came at his side, piercing him. Robin bit his tongue when it actually hurt. Blood flew from the small wound, which was covered in the same blue substance as before on the tree. He started falling. Back in the jeep, Clay got back in, grabbed the wheel, and slammed on the brake. As he was reaching the end of the hill, he jerked the wheel hard to the right, making it swerve so it was sideways with the drop off. The jeep came to a forced stop, causing Trip and Jesse to fall to the right in their seats. Getting out, Clay ran to the end of the hill and looked over. Robin crashed into the side when he was almost to the bottom and started tumbling down towards the valley. After a few more rolls, he crashed to the bottom, rolled sideways back on his hands and feet, and started to run towards the other side, albeit clumsily. He placed a hand to his wound, growling in pain. Clay turned to Jesse and Trip.

"You two, stay here! I'll capture him! Get the cage ready!"

"Yes sir!"

Gripping his rifle with both hands, Clay started down the hill in a much safer fashion. It didn't take long for him to reach the bottom and chase after Robin. Hearing his running footsteps, he decided to discard his backpack and shirt, to lighten his load for the next challenge ahead. He had to climb a sheer, rocky cliff to reach the highway. After throwing his stuff aside, he stood up straight, and ran as fast as his hurting side would allow to the bottom of the cliff. His breathing was suddenly very hard and loud, like he could hardly catch a breath. He even tripped on the first jutted rock as he started to climb. Trying to ignore the fatigue quickly entering his body, Robin swung his legs up onto the next rock and then the next. Clay shouldered his rifle against his back and climbed after him like it was an easy climb.

"Stop running already kid. The poison in my bullets will stop you soon enough anyway."

Robin was really having trouble breathing now and his hands and feet started to go numb. Reaching a hard to climb rock, he grew out his claws, pierced into it, and tried to climb up it. He slipped once, but managed to keep going. When he reached the top, he bent his arms and placed them down on the smooth surface. His eyes closed tightly for a few seconds as he tried pulling himself up. Smirking at his determination to keep going despite the poison's effects taking place, Clay picked up a good sized rock and chucked it high above his head. It flew towards a few loose rocks and, when they hit, they started to fall. Clay quickly moved out-of-the-way as they fell towards Robin, not wanting to get in the crossfire. Finally getting onto the rock, Robin looked up, his eyes widening and his mouth falling open in shock. Quickly turning, he scooted back into another rock right as two reached him. They crashed into the edge of the rock he sat on. It wobbled a little, but it was still pretty sturdy. Robin was about to get to his feet when a few more rocks came crashing down.

Robin cried out in immense pain. A large rock had landed on his outstretched leg. With the little strength he had left, he tried to push it off. He was getting weaker and weaker with each passing second. Panic started setting in as he heard Clay getting closer. Robin whimpered as he pushed a final failed attempt, wondering what was going to happen to him. Still desperate to get away, he tried to stand and pull his leg out at the same time, but it was useless. He only fell back down, exhaustion overcoming him.

Clay stepped onto a smaller rock that was diagonally from Robin. Taking his rifle off his back, he opened the handle and started adding more bullets. Robin stared at him with pleading eyes, which he ignored.

"You'll be unconscious soon," he said, taking his sweet ass time. Robin's eyes drooped, but he jerked them open. Clay snorted, amused. "Don't worry, the poison was only to slow you down in case you decided to run." Once the bullets were in, Clay jerked the muzzle upward, clicking it back in place with the grip. "Your leg might have avoided serious injury if you had just come quietly." Robin's vision started to blur. His body became heavy as his muscles shut down. Clay smirked down at him. "We'll take good care of you until we hand you over to our employer. If we didn't, our payment would decrease." Robin growled weakly in response. His vision was dimming. "Any second n-hm?"

Robin could barely make out Clay looking up past him. A dark shadow suddenly appeared beside him. All he saw was a blur and Clay flying back off his rock, screaming. Then, as though it weighed nothing, the blurred figure grabbed the rock on Robin's leg and hurled it over the side. He faintly heard it crash into other rocks on its way down before his vision turned black. With unconsciousness finally setting in, Robin's head turned to the right. The last thing he remembered was feeling someone strong picking him up in their arms and then heading up the cliff.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

**NOTE:** Some may wonder why a panther would be in a habitat that isn't its normal habitat, but it plays a HUGE part way later. The fact it's white is also a key point in the story line


	5. Mother Nature Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

So I realized something last week. I should warn everyone that doesn't know me by now that this will be slash/yaoi between Slade and Robin. Pretty much all my stories are, so if you weren't aware that that's what I write and you don't like that stuff, then you'll want to stop following me and reading. I forgot to add a warning in the first chapter ^^; So yeah, that's all!

PS: I love people's theories by the way. Some of you were pretty close with your predictions—including who saved Robin at the end of last chapter— Keep 'em coming! Predictions are fun 8D

**SladinForever**

* * *

A bunch of different colors swirled around a dark canvas, doing flips, rolls, and drifting through each other like smoke. They made abstract shapes that made no sense. The colors then intensified, filling the entire canvas with bright lights. They soon grew so bright that they turned a blinding white and spread out like a cloud. Then, in an instant, it exploded in a breathtaking show of display before shrinking back in on itself and disappearing.

* * *

Robin's eyes fluttered open. He was on his side, laying on something plush and soft. When his sight adjusted, the first thing he saw was the pillow his head was lying on. Lifting his gaze with only his eyes, he saw a blank, steel wall five feet away from the bed he slept on. Confused on where he was, Robin slowly sat up and looked at his surroundings. The room was small and bare. There was only one door across from the bed, which was two, twin-sized mattresses stacked on the floor. Robin's ears fell, feeling worried. His tail came out from under the warm blanket that covered up to his waist and rested on his arm, like it was trying to comfort him. A small whine escaped him. Only one thing crossed his mind.

"I've gotta get out of here."

Silently pulling the blanket off his legs, Robin turned and stepped down. With a push of his hands on the bed, he stood up and wobbled on partly numb feet. Not to mention the floor was made out of cold, wood planks, so they instantly became frozen. He took a step to test his balance, then another. When he didn't stumble, he turned and almost tip-toed to the door. The floorboards didn't creak, like he was worried they would. When he reached the door, it silently slid open. Blinking, Robin stepped into the doorway and grabbed the edge. He looked around the corner and saw a hallway that connected to it at the end. He looked the opposite direction and saw the other end of the hall. There were a few doors on either side.

Robin stepped one foot out, turning to the right. He silently walked down to the end and looked around the corner. On the right, there was a wide door at the end of the short hallway. Looking left, he saw the other end leading to an open space. Going that way, Robin sniffed the air. There were a few scents that reached his enhanced nose. He smelled food and then something oddly familiar that he couldn't place. Swallowing, he continued down the hall, the scents getting stronger with each second step. The space at the end went in three directions; one to the right, one to the left, and one diagonally from where he stood. Robin went left towards the direction of the food, his stomach growling.

Robin's ear twitched when he heard something crackling and popping. Moving all the way to the opposite wall of the hall, he walked to the corner, grabbed the edge, and slowly peered around it. He saw part of a wide kitchen, where the corner of a simple, wood table, the corner of a chair with the same wood, and a stove/oven with skillets of food cooking on them stood. The wonderful smells of bacon, eggs, and hash browns entered Robin's nose, making his mouth water and his stomach growl. Moving closer to the kitchen, he tried to find the cook, but no one was there. He also couldn't hear any movement inside except for the crackling of the bacon grease. Where was the man or woman who was cooking go anyway? Who in their right minds would leave wonderful food unattended?

Deciding that he'd rather escape wherever he was instead of staying and finding out who had saved him, Robin let go of the wall and turned. He instantly walked into someone, making him lose his balance and fall loudly and painfully to the floor on his tailbone and back. Growling, Robin slowly sat up, feeling disoriented for a few seconds. Holding his body up with his hands behind him on the floor, he shook his head and then looked up, his unmasked eyes widening.

"This is what happens when people sneak around blindly you know."

Robin gaped at the man before him. "S-Slade?"

The masked villain snorted. "Who else would it be?"

Robin tried to stand up too fast, as the wave of dizziness showed, and he fell forward. Slade grabbed his arm and pushed him back before he could fall and hurt himself. Robin placed a hand to his head, his ears flattening down onto his skull.

"I-I was just surprised, that's all." Slade dusted him off and then moved past him. Robin slowly turned and watched him return to the stove. "How did you find me?"

Slade picked up a fork and flipped the bacon over. "Sit down and I will explain." Nodding, Robin grabbed the back of the chair with both hands, pulled it out, and then sat down. Slade continued cooking. "Yesterday, I was monitoring my nano-bite camera footage and one picked up a feed of you being chased by two men and one in a jeep. At first I didn't recognize you since I couldn't see your face, but once I noticed the familiar tail and ears, I realized who you were. I left from my hideout here and went to save you. I knew you were headed for the highway. I got there five minutes early. Then I saw you from the top of the cliff after the rock landed on you and I waited. Then the man from the jeep spoke to you and I listened in. Once I heard you were being captured for money, I came down to save you."

Robin blinked a few times. He remembered the blur and the man named Clay falling off the cliff. He then remembered the other two men. "So, what happened to the hunters? The one fell after you kicked him, but what about the other two?"

Slade turned off the burners and then started stacking bacon, eggs, and hash browns onto a plain white plate. "I sent exploding bugs to their jeep. I didn't stick around to see what happened to them." Turning, he grabbed a fork and went to the table. "I wanted to get you out of there as quickly as possible."

Slade set the plate down and then went to get a glass. Robin didn't pick up his fork. "Did you intend to kill them?"

Slade poured Robin a glass of cold water, put the Brita pitcher back in the fridge, and then gave him the glass. "The only intentions I had had been to save you. Now eat your breakfast."

Slade went to wash the dishes. Robin picked up his fork and grabbed some eggs. "Thanks for saving me then, I guess."

Robin started eating, feeling famished. The food tasted amazing and the temperature was perfect. He couldn't remember the last time he had a regular breakfast meal. When the skillets had been washed, dried, and put away, Slade sat down and stared off into space. For the next few minutes Robin ate. When his plate was clean, he washed it all down with his water. He then scratched the back of his left ear. Hearing the scritch-scratch sound, Slade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"I am highly disappointed in you by the way."

Stopping mid-scratch, Robin looked at him, confused. "Eh? What do you mean?"

Slade looked at him fully. "You broke the promise you made me."

Robin blinked a few times, wondering what he was talking about. Images of what happened to him several months ago flashed in his mind suddenly. He grinned sheepishly. "Oh, yeah, that." Holding his fist under his mouth, Robin coughed to clear his throat. "We never could find a full cure and Poison Ivy never made an antidote and didn't plan on making it. I even joked about it to Beast Boy once, saying I could never face you again."

"Speaking of your friends, why aren't you in Jump City with them?" Slade asked. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Robin's ears fell back. He looked down at his hands in his lap. "I got kicked out."

"Why?"

Robin scratched the back of his ear again. "I hurt Beast Boy really bad one day when we were wrestling. I almost took out one of his eyes and clawed deep marks into his left arm. He bled pretty bad. The others thought it would be better if I lived away from them so that I couldn't hurt one of them again. I pretty much quit the team and lived on the street. Then I left because those hunters chased me. I wanted to go up north to find a wolf pack to live with. The hunters kept chasing me and now this happened."

Silence filled the kitchen. Robin looked upset as he remembered how painful the last few weeks had been to him. Not only that, but he was terribly homesick and he missed his friends. Now he feared for his life because of the hunters. What was he supposed to do now?

"I suppose you can stay here."

Robin's head jerked up, his face filled with surprise. "What? Really?"

Slade looked sincerely at him. "Where else would you go? Besides, those hunters might still be looking for you. We wouldn't want you getting captured for a price, now, do we?"

Robin looked a little skeptical and suspicious. "What's the catch?"

"There isn't one," Slade assured him. "I would let you live here, for free. All you would really have to do is chores a few hours every day. Normally, I wouldn't allow this without some other condition, but I'm pretty much retired at this point."

Robin leaned back in his chair, his hand lightly gripping the edge of the table. His tail came up and wrapped around his elbow. Robin wasn't sure what to think. Slade was going to let him live there? For free? Just like that? It seemed too good to be true. The offer was perfect. Hell, it was better than perfect. It beat running all the way to Canada or Alaska, by any means. Robin only worried that Slade wasn't being truthful. What if he was lying about the retirement thing? That thought struck him hard.

"What do you mean you're retired? Retired from what?"

Slade snorted softly. "I would think that was obvious. Why else do you think I vanished before Trigon was destroyed?"

Robin blinked twice. "Oh, right. It was kind of strange how you never showed up when the Brotherhood of Evil were around."

"That, plus I knew they would fail," Slade said. "Brain wasn't as smart as he believed himself to be. I haven't had any villainous plans since being Trigon's errand boy."

The room got quiet. Robin grabbed his tail and started to play with it. Neither spoke for a long time.

"Since you're letting me, I'll stay," Robin said a few minutes later. He looked up at Slade. "I mean, it isn't like I can hurt you anyway. Or, at least, not as easily as my friends." He looked back at his tail. Slade watched him intently. Robin's ears quivered. "Thanks."

Robin's voice was very quiet and soft. Slade saw his hands jerking slightly as they played with his tail. "If your friends were truly your friends, they would have tried helping you control your wolf side."

Robin quickly looked at him. "They just didn't want me hurting any of them. I already did that to them once!"

"So they put you out on the street with only the clothes on your back?" Slade asked. Robin's eyes narrowed in anger. "That sounds very selfish to me. They should have tried helping you fix the problem, not kick you out like some mangy beast. I bet that's what they see you as: a monster that is unfit to live with human beings. They were never your friends and you better start accepting that fact before it's too late. But don't worry, I won't say I told you so. "

Robin was growling. Slade's harsh words cut through him like a knife. He was wrong. He had to be. Right?

Without a word, Robin got up, almost knocked the chair over as he pushed it away, and then stormed out of the room. Slade followed him with his gaze, seeing his tail wrap around his waist securely. Robin left, heading back for the room he had woken up in. Slade didn't get up from his chair. Seconds passed before Robin returned, looking sheepish.

"Where's the bathroom?"

Slade exhaled as he stood up and approached him. "I'll show you around."

They went on a tour of Slade's hideout after Robin used the bathroom. The last place they went was outside. The hideout was surrounded entirely by pine and oak trees, hiding the place rather well. Going around the large, cabin-like hideout to the back, Slade approached another building made of concrete. A large, front door stood in the center of it. They stopped in front of it. Lifting his hand to a device on the center of the door where the crack was, Slade placed it down and a blue light appeared behind it. Once it confirmed his print, the door unlocked and slowly came open. Slade and Robin walked inside once it opened halfway. It closed behind them as they stepped a few feet within the building. Robin's eyes widened.

All around the room, there was exercise and fighting equipment, a few large boxes along the walls with doors, and what appeared to be a fighting arena directly in the middle of the room. Robin realized what it reminded him of.

"You own a dojo?"

"Yes. I workout for hours during the day, meditate, and rebuild the robots I destroy. I spend most of my time in here."

Robin glanced around the room briefly. "Will I be able to use it?"

"If you want."

Robin smiled. "Good because I haven't had a sparring session in a long time."

Slade looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "You can come in here tomorrow. For now, you need rest."

They returned to the main building. Robin wasn't actually tired and he felt fine. He didn't know what he could and could not do. Slade hadn't exactly specified where he could go or what he was allowed to do. Probably wanted him to go back to sleep for a while longer. A thought quickly came to him.

"Can I take a shower? I haven't had one in a while."

"You can," Slade said. "But then you need to go back to bed."

Robin's ears fell back. "But I'm not tired." Slade gave him a slightly stern look. Robin looked at the floor, his tail drooping. "Okay…" Slade led him back to the bathroom. While Robin used the toilet again, he went to grab him a towel. He soon returned with one and a clean pair of boxers. Robin turned to him when he recognized them as his extra pair. "How'd you get that? I threw my backpack away when the hunters were chasing me."

Slade dropped the two items on the now closed toilet. "You were unconscious for almost twenty-four hours. I went back and collected your things. I also rubbed a special ointment into your leg that had been crushed. You only suffered a few scrapes and bruises. Your bones didn't break, but there's an obvious reason why."

Robin nodded. "Yeah, I can shift my bones around if I need to run on all fours. My legs are much stronger than they used to be."

"Anyway, your minor wounds will only take a few days to heal with the ointment. I will need to put it on every morning and before bed."

When Robin had nothing else to say, Slade left so that he could have privacy. He quickly pulled his shorts and boxers off and then moved to the shower. Opening the glass door, he peered inside and saw a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and a bar of soap in a wall tray. The knobs to turn the water on were ordinary looking. Robin turned them on, made it the right temperature, and then got in. Looking at the shower head, he adjusted the spray setting to a mix of hard spray and massage and then dunked his head under. For almost an hour and a half Robin showered, relaxing under the spray after he cleaned himself and shampooed his hair. The hot water never lessened, so he assumed Slade had some kind of regenerating water heater somewhere. Needless to say, he had a wonderful, relaxing shower. Even his tail was happy.

After Robin dried himself the best he could, he got dressed, hung the towel over the shower door, and then left. He entered the kitchen and went to the fridge. Not knowing where Slade was, he helped himself to a glass of water. He was just putting the pitcher away when he appeared.

"You can take your glass into the room you woke up in. I won't make you sleep for very long."

Robin took a few gulps of water before nodding. "Okay." Slade returned him to his room. Going to the bed, Robin set his glass down on the floor and then crawled on. He laid on his side, curling up into a messy ball. He stared at the opposite wall, still not feeling tired at all. After a few minutes, he sighed heavily and uncurled himself. "This isn't going to work."

Getting off the bed, Robin examined the room more carefully. He checked the window, which had no lock. He tested to see if it would open, but it seemed to be nailed shut. Luckily, there was a glass partition he could lift so air could flow through the screen. Robin then tried to push the screen out, but it didn't budge. So he couldn't get out and explore without Slade knowing, unless he wanted to tear the screen off.

Robin moved away from the window, went to the edge of the bed, and picked up his glass. He swallowed a few gulps before setting it back down and then sitting on the floor. Backing himself against the mattresses, Robin stretched his legs out and then leaned all the way forward. He stretched his arms out completely straight, held it for twenty seconds, and then slowly pulled back. Next he tried to do the splits. They didn't get very far before his thighs started to hurt. He closed his legs back up and stretched his calves and arms again. His back popped in a few strained places, making him feel more relaxed.

When he was bored with stretching, Robin performed a few half crunches, as not to overexert himself. After one hundred, he attempted two hundred push-ups. He only made it to one hundred and fifteen before feeling too exhausted to go anymore. Well, at least he could try going back to sleep now. Maybe the wind would help him fall asleep. Robin got back into bed, finished off his water, and then closed his eyes. The breeze drifted through the room, making his hair move slightly. His ear twitched every few seconds. He was about to fall asleep when he heard a distant howl. Smiling, Robin listened as it continued, the song of his fellow wolf comforting and relaxing him further. Soon, Robin's world darkened and silenced around him as he fell back to sleep.

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Mother Nature Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Robin wasn't sure how long he slept before Slade woke him up. The glass from the window was closed. Robin felt more refreshed after his nap. He stretched his arms above his head and then flattened his hair down.

"What time is it?" he asked as he began to rise.

"Almost six," Slade said, tossing him a T-shirt. "I did some laundry while you were asleep."

Robin pulled the shirt on and then scratched one of his ears. "Thanks, for everything."

"Of course." They were silent for a while. "Dinner is ready if you're hungry." Robin watched Slade leave the room. Sighing quietly, he followed after him. They entered the kitchen. Robin sat down and waited for his plate of buttered toast, scrambled eggs, and ham. After setting his plate down in front of him, Slade went to the fridge and opened it. "I have water, orange juice, milk, and grape juice."

Robin took a bite of toast before answering. "Milk, please."

Reaching in, Slade pulled a carton of milk out of the fridge and then went to get a glass. He filled it full, except for five inches at the top. Robin was swallowing some crust when he set the glass down. While he ate, Slade washed the dishes that he cooked with, dried them, and put them away. Robin downed his milk once his plate was clean.

"I have some robots to repair," Slade said, taking his plate and glass away. "You can help or rest some more."

He started washing the rest of the dishes. Robin stood up, pushing his chair in. "I'll help. I don't want to go back to bed until much later."

"I'll meet you in the other building then."

Nodding, Robin left, made his way to the front door, and walked outside. He closed the door behind him before walking around the cabin and making his way to the dojo. When he was almost to the door, he heard a loud caw. Jumping ever so slightly, Robin turned and looked around, trying to locate the crow. He looked at the roof of the cabin and spotted it. He stared unblinking at it, wondering what it would do. The crow stared at him, its eye moving around in its socket strangely. Goosebumps appeared on Robin's arms and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. A growl formed in his chest and then entered his throat.

"What!" he snapped.

The crow stared at him for a few more seconds before lifting its wings and pushing off the metal gutter to take flight. It flew right over him. Robin turned on his heel and watched it vanish from over the dojo. Shaking his head to relieve himself of the unwelcome feeling, he stepped up to the door and placed his hand on the touch pad. The light scanned it and accepted him. He was about to walk through the door when a voice spoke behind him.

"A single crow is a sign of death approaching." Robin turned sideways and saw Slade step up beside him. "If you believe in that sort of thing, anyway."

Robin shrugged. Walking past him, Slade entered the dojo and headed for the storage units at the end of the room. Robin followed and heard the door close behind him. Opening a metal door, Slade walked into a large room where robots hung on the walls, parts were in boxes and crates, and blueprints were tacked to the walls. Robin walked over and peered inside.

"What do you need brought out?"

Slade took a toolbox off a shelf and set it on a table that held more parts. "I need to make a few robots from scratch. Grab the blueprints from the walls and put the tacks back in their holes. I'll bring out the rest." Nodding, Robin entered the room and went to the wall. He took off every sheet of blue paper, put the tacks back in their places, and then headed out. "Take the toolbox with you."

Robin took a few backwards steps, grabbed the handle of the toolbox, and then lifted it off the table. Going out to the arena, he walked towards the middle and set his items down. For the next few minutes, Slade brought out parts and a few already made, but needed repairs, robots. Robin laid out the blueprints, in order, in order to examine them fully. Soon, their work area was set up and Slade gave him the needed robot parts in order to make a new one.

"I have extras of every tool, so don't worry about waiting for one," Slade explained, setting a robot sideways in front of him. He got on his knees to work. "If you're not sure how to connect certain parts, just leave those alone. I'd rather not have defected robots made."

Robin looked inside the toolbox and grabbed the tools he needed. "Okay, I'll try to follow your blueprints to the T."

Looking at the first blueprint, he grabbed a torso and stomach and set them in front of him. For the next three hours, Slade and Robin worked on their projects in silence. It was actually kind of fun and interesting to put a whole robot together by himself. Connecting certain wires and piping was sometimes a difficult task, but Robin managed.

After another half hour, Robin stuck the robot's head onto its shoulders and neck after connecting the wires to the chest. It went on with a soft thump and a click. After testing its limbs to see if they would stay on, Robin got up in a crouch and rapped his knuckles on the robot's face. Slade was putting a new clawed hand on his thirteenth repair.

"You can test your robot out tomorrow. If you destroy it or break it, you'll repair it."

Robin looked at him and smiled. He wasn't sure of this feeling within him, but he liked it. Slade was being really kind to him despite their heated past. Maybe that's what retirement did to people.

"You changed a lot you know. And it's a good change. You seem more human now." Robin paused, waiting for Slade to react in some way; he didn't. "I just wanted you to know that." Slade still didn't say anything. Smiling one last time, Robin stood up and stretched. "I'm going to get some water. Want any?"

"No. I'll be in soon though."

"Okay."

Robin put his tools back in the box, picked up his robot with some difficulty, and placed it in the closet with the other full robots. Leaving the dojo, he returned to the house, poured himself a tall glass of water, and guzzled it down. He rinsed the cup out, set it on the counter, and washed his hands with soap. During that time, Slade placed the robots in the closet and re-tacked his blueprints to the wall. After cleaning up, he returned to the house and heard the toilet flushing. Robin soon emerged, rubbing his eye.

"So…what now?" he asked.

"I would like you to go back to bed, but I doubt you will," Slade said. Robin nodded. "I do have a computer, if you want to use it."

Robin thought about it for a moment. "I should probably let the Titans know that I'm okay. Can I e-mail them?"

"You can." Slade turned. "Come with me." Robin followed Slade to his office/bedroom. A black laptop was sitting on a desk on the left side of the room. Slade turned it on, waited for it to load, logged in, and then sat Robin down in the comfy, high-backed, black chair. "My IP is untraceable with your team's security, so they won't be able to find us."

Robin opened the internet browser on the desktop and logged onto his Hotmail account. Slade watched him start his e-mail before going into his bathroom to shower. For a few minutes, Robin typed out his e-mail. When he was done, he read it carefully.

_Hey Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, _

_It's Robin. As you can probably tell, I h__…_

"…Ave found a place to stay with internet access. I just wanted to e-mail you to tell you that I am fine. I finally have a roof over my head. Don't be alarmed, but I had been chased for almost two weeks since I was last at the tower—if Raven mentioned it to you. I'm safe now though, so no need to worry. As far as my rescuer is concerned, no one will be able to find his hideout and that includes you guys. Who knows, maybe he can help me control myself so that I can come home again. At least, I'd like to. And I don't care what anyone says: kicking me out was best for all of us. You did it to protect yourselves from me and I'm okay with that. I miss you guys and hope to see you again someday. Love, Robin." There was a pause. "PS: Tell Beast Boy I'm sorry and I hope he's fully healed by now. I hurt him the most, so I hope he's okay. Thank you."

The four remaining Titans stood in front of the large monitor in the main room. Raven had read Robin's e-mail out loud to everyone. An unsettling silence filled the tower. After another minute, Raven turned to them all.

"At least we know he's okay." Beast Boy looked angry about something. Raven looked at him. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah, something's wrong!" Beast Boy snapped. "You did tell us he visited for more stuff, but you never told us people were chasing him!"

"I didn't want to worry you guys. Robin can take care of himself anyway."

"That's not the point!" Beast Boy threw his arm out towards the window. "We kicked him out of the tower because of a goddamn accident! He was chased by people for god knows what and we just find out?! That's bullshit!"

Cyborg turned and stepped in front of him, looking sincere. He attempted to put his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, B."

Beast Boy jerked away, glaring at him. "I will _not _calm down! I don't care what Robin said in his e-mail! It could be a lie and he's really in trouble! I won't let him get hurt or killed because of me!"

"And what do you plan to do?" Raven asked. "Going to go out and search for him?"

Beast Boy lit up a bit. "You know what Rae? That's a _great idea_! I'm gonna go out and find him and bring him back!"

"But, Beast Boy, we need you for the butt kicking," Starfire said.

Beast Boy snorted. "Everyone knows I'm the weakest link in this team. If there's anything I'm good at, it's tracking. I'm going to go out and find Robin. I want to apologize to him directly for our mistakes. He deserves that much."

"I do hope you know how crazy this sounds," Raven said. "Where do you plan to start looking?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "If I were Robin, I'd be finding a pack somewhere. He'd want to find a place where he can fit in. It's worth a shot."

"Well, I hope you know what you're doing," Raven said. "Just be careful, alright?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah, I will."

Turning, Beast Boy headed for his room. The others watched him go, not sure if this was a good idea.

"Will friend Beast Boy be alright alone?" Starfire asked a few seconds later.

"Let us hope so."

* * *

The next morning, Robin was finally back to normal. Well, almost. A human having a wolf tail and ears was far from normal. He had a hearty breakfast. After his food had settled, he decided that he would test out his robot, like Slade said he could. Slade brought it out of the closet and set it in the middle of the arena once they were in the dojo. Robin stretched and limbered up while he uploaded a fighting program into the robot. Taking the chip out of the side of its head, Slade walked off to stand at the sidelines. Robin stood in front of the robot, growing out his claws.

"The program I uploaded into it is a level five of seven. Its techniques are almost the same as mine, so be careful."

Robin grinned. "Good. This'll help me come up with a new strategy in order to finally beat you."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Robin glanced at him over his shoulder, smirking. "You haven't seen me fight like this before. You might be surprised."

Slade smirked. "We'll see."

Looking back at the robot, Robin got down on all fours after readjusting the bones in his legs and then charged at it. It got into a fighting stance. When Robin was a foot away, he slammed his claws into the floor to stop his run and then instantly rolled sideways in the air. As he made two full turns, he aimed a clawed hand at the robot's face. Its raised fist went right by his bent arm, aiming for his face. With his other hand, Robin grabbed it to stop it and finished his punch. The robot stumbled from the force of his blow. To make it fall, Robin kicked it in the gut. It started to fall backwards. Robin flipped over it after throwing its arm to the side and then stood up straight. The robot lay on the floor, unmoving. Robin looked up at Slade.

"That was fast."

"I wouldn't be too sure."

Eyes widening, Robin tilted his head down right as an uppercut came at his chin. His head jerked back harshly. The punch knocked him off his feet and he flew back. As he started to fall, the robot jumped above him and aimed a punch at him. Growling with one eye closed, Robin threw his arm back beside his head, touched his hand to the floor, and then flipped backwards onto his feet. The robot landed in a crouch, thrusting its fist into the floor. It cracked, leaving a small indent. Robin rubbed his jaw with the back of his hand.

"I'll have to break something off to immobilize it."

His brain worked fast, coming up with a good plan. As the robot stood up, Robin ran towards it, his clawed hand hovering by the side of his head. Thrusting it forward, he grabbed the top of the robot's head as it ducked and lifted his knee to its face. He felt the center of the mask dent inward slightly when it hit. Robin released it and then aimed another punch at the indent. His fist made contact, making the robot stumble and start to fall. Sliding underneath it as it neared the floor, Robin kicked upwards with his left leg, catching it in the back. It flew high into the air as he stood up, turned, and pushed off the floor to go after it. The robot managed to flip in order to face him. Robin aimed another punch at its face. Its head jerked to the side, causing his fist to go past it. Lifting its right arm, the robot shoved it aside, turning him slightly. Quickly grabbing him, it rolled over backwards so that their heads faced the floor.

Crying out in pain, Robin fell onto his side after the robot slammed the top of his head into the floor. He placed his hand on the bump, hissing in pain. The robot was on its feet, staring at him so that he could recover.

"I hope you have a thicker skull because the floor is made out of concrete," Slade said from the sidelines. "But, seeing as you're not bleeding…" Robin slowly got to his feet, swaying slightly. His ears were flattened down to his head. Slade suddenly noticed something. "Your tail never gets in the way. How do you keep it around your waist like that?"

Robin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "I think it has a mind of its own. When I'm upset, it wraps around my arm, like its comforting me."

"I see…"

Turning his full gaze back at the robot, Robin lowered his hand, bent his knees as he spread his legs out a bit, and curled his hands into fists as he raised his arms to his sides. With a growl, he pushed off the floor and ran towards it. The robot stood perfectly still as he charged. When he was close, Robin quickly slid around to the side, catching it off guard. He quickly grabbed the side of its head with his clawed hand and stepped his right foot forward. Shoving the robot sideways, he caused it to lose its balance. As it fell, Robin bent his knees and slammed the head into the floor. There was a sickening crack as the mask broke.

Robin was now in a crouch, his hand still gripping the robot's head. When it lay unmoving, he slowly released it and stood up and back. For half a minute he waited for it to do something. He then looked at Slade and grinned sheepishly.

"I think I broke it."

"You'll have to repair it yourself then," Slade said. "Anything that has been dented, cracked, or destroyed will need replacing. After you do that, you have to test it to make sure you fixed it completely. If it is, then put it away."

"Okay."

"Go get the toolbox and parts then."

Robin went to the storage unit, grabbed the toolbox, and brought it out. He set it next to his robot before examining the body parts. All he needed was a new head, neck, and clawed hand. Once he got his parts, he began to take the damaged pieces off. For forty-five minutes, he repaired his robot, sticking the head on last. He then stood it up and examined it again. Slade appeared beside him with a program chip, handing it over.

"This program chip let's it test its limbs out, to make sure they're not loose or partly detached." Slade pulled him to the side and touched a thin, rectangular hole in the robot's head. "The chip is inserted here. You will hear the robot download the program and then a click when it's done. You take the chip out after. Once you finished testing it, put the chip back in and reverse the download. It'll become a lifeless puppet after you do that."

Nodding, Robin placed the chip in the slot. When it clicked, he heard a soft humming sound as the program was downloaded. After another click, he pulled it out and stepped back. He watched in fascination as the robot did some simple exercises. It stretched its arms and legs, clenched and unclenched its fists a few times, and finally rolled its head around and tilted it side-to-side, like it was popping its neck. It then stood still. Taking that as a sign that it was done, Robin put the chip back in, reversed the download, and pulled the chip out. Slade took it from him and told him to put the robot away. Robin did so and then returned to the arena.

"That was really fun. I didn't realize making your robots would be."

"They get boring after a while," Slade said. "I've made thousands of these things."

"Should've invested in a factory so that machines could do it for you."

"Yes, but they're not entirely reliable. Machines break and need repairs themselves. It would cost me too much money."

Robin chuckled. "The thought of you spending money on things is funny to me. Whatever happened to stealing?"

"You seem to think that villains are incapable of leading normal lives," Slade said, folding his arms over his chest. "Stealing food and things to live off of is petty theft. As they say, "we wouldn't be caught dead doing a weakling's job"."

Robin blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought of that before. He always believed that villains did whatever they wanted, _whenever_ they wanted. Now he learned that they had some form of decency in their lives.

"Oh. I never thought villains had any ounce of sympathy or morals."

"Yes, not all do, but most have morals and rules they follow. I have my own set of morals. I do not senselessly kill people for the hell of it. If I have a reason to or I am given a job that requires to kill, then I will. But I don't kill innocent people. I only steal if it is necessary and, when I do, I don't let any of it go to waste. I use all of my resources. In a battle, if my opponent is too weak to fight, I back off and either let them recover so they can keep fighting or walk away and leave them to die themselves. However, this only applies if I see no reason to kill them. As far as sympathy is concerned, haven't I've done that with you? If I didn't have the feeling of sympathy, you would still be out there with the hunters chasing you. For years you have had half truths drilled into your head. You attack first, ask questions or think later. Not all villains are mindless monsters, like you believe them to be. We are, after all, still human, whether you believe it or not."

Robin looked at the floor. Slade's words repeated in his head over and over again. Deep down he knew what he said was true. He felt ashamed for assuming about him like that. And he was right. If he didn't have sympathy, Robin would still be alone with the hunters chasing after him for god knows what. He would not be there with a roof over his head and to be able to talk to someone. Thanks to Slade, Robin was safe and free to do as he pleased.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Slade said. "It isn't your fault you were never told our side of the story. All you've ever known was the hero side of things. It is no easy task to get inside our heads."

"If you say so…"

They were both silent for a while.

"How about a sparring session before lunch?"

Looking up, Robin smiled weakly. "I'd like that."

"Then let's begin."

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Mother Nature Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Prepare for a strange and interesting, but fun chapter ;)

PS: Posted it a day early because I lav you guys ^^ I am working on the final chapter too! Coming along great! The story will be a total of 21 chapters. YAY!

**SladinForever**

* * *

After sparring for three hours, Robin ate a turkey sandwich with lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup and a glass of grape juice for lunch. Slade was wrapping bandages around his upper arm. Robin had scratched him when he tried getting him off after a tackle. After lunch, Slade gave him some chores to do around the house. He had to dust everything, sweep and mop the kitchen, and vacuum the floors. When he was done, Robin decided to take a two hour nap. When he woke up, he was full of energy and bored. So he entered Slade's room to see what he was up to. He was sitting at his computer, looking over an inventory list. Stepping up on his right behind him, Robin examined the list. There was a lot of food and drink items, plus some weapons and mechanical parts. He blinked a few times.

"Where do you go to get your stuff?"

Slade adjusted the numbers of certain items, marking them up or down by a few points. "The nearest town is ten miles from here."

"Do you use money?"

"Usually," Slade said, fixing two more items. "Sometimes I use trading for mechanical parts." After saving his work and closing the window, Slade turned the computer off and closed the lid. Turning the chair around, he stood up. "Is there something you needed?"

Robin's eyes widened slightly, almost forgetting why he had entered the room. "Oh, erm, well, I'm just a little bored. I wanted to see what you were doing, in case you had any ideas on what I can do."

"What would you _like_ to do?"

"I want to go outside. But, the hunters…"

Robin trailed off. Grabbing his shoulder, Slade turned him around and gently pushed him forward. "I'll go outside with you." Grinning, Robin jogged to the door and left. Shaking his head, Slade followed him at a walk. They moved through the house and left out the front door. Robin headed for the thicket of trees. "There isn't anything to do out there you know."

Reaching a part of the forest that wasn't too crowded of trees, Robin went to one and started to climb it. He dug his claws into the bark as he climbed the trunk to reach the branches.

"Sure there is!"

Slade stopped a few feet from the tree and looked up. "Wolves can't climb trees."

Robin pulled himself onto the first thick branch and sat with his legs on either side of it. He looked down at Slade and playfully stuck his tongue out at him. Slade's eye narrowed slightly at him. Robin chuckled.

"You should learn to lighten up!" Getting on his stomach, Robin pushed himself up to stand on his branch. He placed his hand on the trunk to avoid losing his balance and falling. "But if you _really _want to get back at me, then come get me!"

"You expect me to chase you through the trees?" Robin nodded happily. Slade smirked. "If you insist…"

Without waiting for him, Robin turned, ran across his branch, and then jumped off. He landed on a different tree, climbed to the next branch, and repeated the process. Shaking his head in amusement, Slade ran across the forest floor, jumped at a tree as high as he could, landed on it, and then pushed off towards another. He quickly flipped himself onto a branch, performed another jump, and landed on a different branch. Robin was getting higher and higher into the tall trees as Slade chased him.

It didn't take long for Slade to start catching up. Their jumps were in almost perfect sync. Coming up to a far away branch of a new tree, Robin took a flying leap, grabbed the branch while digging his claws into the wood to avoid falling, and then flipped onto it. He landed in a crouch and stood up right as Slade landed on the branch below him. Robin suddenly had a better idea.

"I'll race you to the top! The loser has to make dinner!"

Robin leaped off the branch and continued higher. Determined to beat him, Slade continued the chase, concentrating more on the trees. Almost two minutes passed before Robin was nearing the top. Slade wasn't far behind. Seeing the secret finish line, Robin jumped onto the side of the tree, pushed off, and jumped to the next one. Knowing where he was going, Slade took a faster route, running from one branch to another since they were so close together. He jumped onto the tree next to the finish line right as Robin pushed off and grabbed the branch. He flipped onto it and then sat down with his hands gripping the branch in between his parted legs. Looking up, Slade saw him grinning down at him.

"I win!" Looking past him, Slade stared at something above him. Grin faltering, Robin blinked in curiosity, wondering what he was looking at. His eyes suddenly widened when he pushed off the trunk of the tree, landed next to him on his branch, and jumped even higher. Jerking his head up, Robin saw him standing on a thin branch that was above his head. His mouth fell open. "Ah… No fair!"

Folding his arms over his chest, Slade smirked down at him. "Looks like I win."

Pouting, Robin jerked his gaze away and snorted. After a few seconds, he got a soft, devious look on his face. "At least my branch won't break on me."

"Hm…?"

Slade heard a loud creak and then something snapped. Eyes widening in surprise, he slipped and fell off the broken branch. Robin gripped his branch tight as he landed on it. It shuddered violently under his weight. His legs were dangling in the air and he couldn't get his footing. Gripping the branch with his arms tight, Slade pulled himself up. Swinging his leg over, he sat down beside Robin and shook his head. Robin stifled a laugh, smiling instead.

"Don't like falling?"

Slade looked at him. "I am used to a lot of things. Like pain for instance. However, falling the way I did still makes my stomach flutter. I also don't like being forced up too fast."

"Oh. So you prefer having your feet planted firmly to the ground?"

"Something like that."

They were silent for a moment. Robin suddenly smiled. "Any other weaknesses you'd like to share?"

Slade stared at him blankly for a few seconds before looking away and standing. "We should return."

Slade jumped off the branch and made his way down. Robin stared after him, wondering what he just felt from him. Ignoring it for now, he got up and followed after him. They made it back to the cabin in seven minutes. Since Robin lost the game, he made chicken stir fry.

"When do you plan on going into town?" he asked while watching over his skillet.

"In a few days," Slade said, working on his computer while at the table. "But you won't be going."

Robin looked at him. "Why?"

"Well, I can't go out looking like this, now, can I?"

Robin suddenly turned, hands on his hips as he glared at him. "You have to show me what you look like sooner or later."

Slade glanced at him from the lid of his laptop. "I don't have to _do _anything."

Robin threw his arms up in the air. "That's not fair! You already know what I look like without a mask, so I should get the same treatment, don't you think?"

Slade's response was totally irrelevant. "You stir fry is going to burn."

Throwing his head back, Robin threw his hands into the air again. "UGH!" Turning on his heel, he slammed his spoon into the skillet and started to stir again. He turned the stove heat down. Slade just shook his head and returned to his work. Robin glared at the stir fry as he continued to stir it. "Asshole," he grumbled under his breath.

"I heard that."

Still overly annoyed, Robin continued making dinner in silence.

* * *

Robin laid in bed with his hands behind his head an hour after a shower that night, staring up at the ceiling. Ever since sending his e-mail the night before, he felt strange. Would the Titans have believed it was him sending it? Or did they think it had been a fake, a joke? Robin assumed Raven had told Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy about being chased that day before he left. But what if she hadn't? How would they react knowing right then after two weeks of being gone?

Robin's ear twitched and then turned towards the window. When he heard the same noise again, he turned his head and looked out. On the window sill, a crow was staring straight at him. Curious, Robin slowly got up and approached the window slowly to avoid scarring the bird away. Stepping up to it, he pushed the glass separation up to see out the screen. The crow stared at him with piercing black eyes, sending chills down his spine.

"Are you the crow from yesterday?" Robin asked it. The crow blinked, waited a few seconds, and then cawed. "Crows don't talk, do they?" The crow didn't reply. "What do you want?"

"Wrong question."

Robin blinked in surprise and confusion. So the crow did speak. "I have to ask the right question?" The crow preened his wing. "Okay, who are you?"

"Wrong question."

Robin frowned. What was he supposed to be asking? "Do you want to come in?" The crow shook his head. "Do you want me to come out there?"

The crow hopped across the window sill a few times. "Outside."

"Why do you want me to come out for?" Robin asked.

"Not why, who."

"Someone wants me to come out to see them?"

"Yes."

Robin started to believe crows were very cryptic creatures. But someone wanted to see him? What was that about? "I'd like to meet whoever wants to see me, but it's late. I'd rather not wander around the house."

"Remove barrier."

"Barrier?" Robin whispered. He looked around the perimeter of the window. "The screen? I don't want to ruin it."

"Remove barrier."

Robin glared at the persistent crow. "Okay, fine." With a clawed finger, Robin started at the top right corner and made a vertical slit in the screen. He then moved it around in a square to cut the screen out. The crow flew into the air to avoid getting hit by it as it fluttered backwards. "So do I follow you?"

"Yes."

Nodding, Robin crawled his way out the window. He dropped to a crouch in the grass, looked up, and saw the crow heading further into the trees. Standing up, Robin chased after him, entering the thicket of trees. The crow flew low enough for him to see him. For a few minutes, they made their way through the forest. Robin soon sensed a powerful force coming up on his right. That's when the crow turned in said direction. Robin changed direction too, continuing the chase. They soon reached a clearing. When Robin ran through the tall grass, fireflies started burning brightly around him. He was suddenly having some major déjà vu. Stopping, he looked around. The crow seemed to have vanished. Confused, Robin was about to keep going when he heard something behind him. Quickly turning, he got in a fighting stance, thinking he was going to be attacked. He suddenly blinked.

Standing at the edge of the clearing that Robin came out of, a white wolf with golden eyes was staring at him. Robin swallowed in anticipation when it didn't do anything. Maybe this was the one he was supposed to see? He lowered his guard and crouched, to be level with the wolf. His tail wrapped tightly around his waist, as a warning to be careful.

"Did you send the crow?" The wolf dipped his head, which Robin thought meant 'yes'. "Why? What do you want?"

"Warning, danger."

Robin groaned. "You're just like the crow. Can't you speak normally?"

The wolf inhaled deeply. "Warning you. In danger. Stay away from humans."

"Does that include Slade?" Robin asked. His eyes suddenly widened slightly. "Hey, wait, then that means the hunters are still out there?"

"Yes."

Robin sighed in annoyance. "I had a feeling it was too good to be true. And what about Slade, the one who rescued me from the hunters? Do I have to stay away from him too?"

The wolf was silent for a moment. "No immediate danger. Careful still. Not as it seems."

Robin was a bit confused about that last part. "Do you mean Slade isn't as he seems? Like he's hiding something?"

"Yes. Hiding true intentions. Hiding true feelings."

"True feelings?" Robin asked himself. The wolf stared intently at him. Robin then remembered about earlier that evening, when he and Slade were in the trees, having fun. "Okay, I don't know what those true feelings are, but I'll watch out for them. Anything else I should know before I go back?"

The wolf was quiet again for a while. "Help in unexpected places. Take into consideration. No overlook. Yours for the taking."

Robin kind of understood what the wolf was saying now. Basically, if there was help around, he shouldn't ignore it and use the help provided. And it could appear whenever, wherever. Robin wasn't about to take this advice without total care.

"Okay, I'll keep all of that in mind."

The wolf stared at him for a few more seconds before tilting his head back and howling. The rest of the fireflies rose into the air, surrounded the wolf in spirals, and their lights started to blind Robin. He closed his eyes to shield them. When he knew the light was gone, he opened them and the wolf and fireflies were gone. Robin looked stunned. What had that wolf been? Was he crazy to think the wolf and the crow were some kind of kindred spirits? Whatever they had been, they were weird. But Robin trusted them. And one thing was for sure: he had to be more careful now that he knew the hunters were still searching for him. If he let his guard down, even for a second, he'd be in serious trouble.

Suddenly feeling tired, Robin headed back for the cabin, not knowing someone was watching over him from the sky.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

Okay, you guys are probably thinking, "what the hell was up with the ending there? Why was the wolf and crow being so weird/annoying? It made no sense at all!" Yeah, that's the point ;) I've been fascinated with cryptic speaking and riddles for a long time, even if I can't answer/understand them myself XD But this was fun. Think of it as foreshadowing in a way. Because believe me, strange things do happen in the story in a few chapters from now. Things will become clear eventually XD Take care

**SladinForever**


	8. Mother Nature Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Two of the wolf's warnings from last chapter presents themselves in this one. Read to find out which ones!

**SladinForever**

* * *

Due to having trouble falling asleep during the night, Robin slept in until eleven. Slade hadn't bothered waking him up sooner because he wasn't there. He had gone into town without Robin knowing. He wasn't back yet. Sitting up in bed, Robin stretched and yawned, his tail stretching out along with him. When he was done, it fell with a soft thump on the bed. His stomach suddenly growled.

"Okay, okay, we'll get lunch."

Standing up, Robin left the room, used the bathroom, and then entered the kitchen. He looked in the fridge and saw a few eggs left and sprinkled cheese. Taking both out and a tub of butter, he decided to make a grilled, scrambled egg with cheese sandwich. While the eggs cooked after breaking them open, Robin got out bread, a plate, and a glass. He poured himself orange juice and set it aside. Taking a knife and the butter, he plopped a dollop into his sandwich skillet and let it melt while he waited for his eggs. He flipped them over and added the sprinkle cheese to get it melting. Soon, everything was cooked to perfection. Robin used a spoon to scoop eggs up and place them on his lightly toasted bread slices. He turned off the stove, grabbed his plate and orange juice, and went to the table. He sat down, picked up his sandwich with his bare hands, and took a big bite from the top corner.

For the next five minutes Robin ate his lunch, feeling better than the night before. Food was comfort to him it seemed. Fighting crime used to do that, before he became part wolf. With that out of the picture, he had to rely on exercise and food. And maybe a bit of hunting too.

Robin's ear perked up and then turned towards the living room. A lock clicked and the front door opened. Turning around, Robin sniffed the air, recognizing Slade's scent. Relaxing, he turned back around and finished his last bite of sandwich. He heard Slade enter the kitchen, but then stop suddenly.

"If you even think about turning around-"

Robin grabbed his glass. "I won't. I'm _tempted_, but I won't."

With a nod, Slade went to the counter and set a few grocery bags down. "When you're done, help me bring bags in."

Robin downed his orange juice as Slade left down the hall. After placing his plate and glass in the sink and he washed his hands, he headed outside. A few feet from the front door, a black Convertible with the top down sat there, waiting. The trunk was open. Robin went over and grabbed a few bags in each hand. He was heading back in when Slade came back out, wearing his mask. When his back was to him, Robin stuck his tongue out and then hurried into the house. It took a few minutes to bring everything inside. Then they started unpacking the bags and putting groceries away. Halfway done, Robin thought of something funny. He chuckled. Slade glanced at him.

"And what is so funny?"

Robin put a carton of milk in the fridge. "Oh, nothing. I just pictured you pushing a shopping cart around in a store."

Slade snorted softly. "There you go again…"

"I didn't say anything bad," Robin said with a laugh. "I just find it funny, that's all."

"I could say the same thing about you."

Robin started stuffing the plastic bags into one another. "There's a big difference between you and me: I don't have a face plate attached to my head."

Slade closed a cupboard and then turned to him. Taking the bags from him, he tied the handles together. Robin tensed his shoulders and closed his eyes when he hit him on the head with it.

"Wash your dishes and then clean the bathrooms."

After putting the bags under the sink, Slade left. Grumbling, Robin washed his dishes, dried them, and put them back where he found them. For an hour he cleaned Slade's bathroom and the one in the hallway. Robin wondered why he had two to begin with, but decided not to ask. The cabin could have been made long ago, abandoned, and then discovered by Slade. He very well could have fixed it up and left it at that. Robin then wondered when he would have had time to do it when, as far as he knew, he had been a villain for twenty or so years. He quickly realized that he was assuming again. Robin didn't know how old Slade was and he didn't know when he started being a criminal either. Or he should say ex-criminal.

After putting his cleaning supplies away in the hall closet, Robin went looking for Slade. He was bored again and wanted to see if he felt like sparring. He checked his room first, but he wasn't there. Then he checked the living room and kitchen, but still nothing. So then he tried the spare bedroom that Slade was lending him. He found him by the window, putting a new screen on. Robin sat on the bed that had been made.

"Erm, sorry about that," he said, playing with his tail. "I can't open the window and I wanted some fresh air last night without walking through the house, so…"

"You went out for more than just air."

Robin blinked in surprise. "Um, what? How did you know that?"

After Slade closed the glass separation, he turned to him. "Do you need a history lesson?"

"Huh?"

Sighing, Slade headed for the door. "I'll show you." Standing up, Robin followed Slade to his bedroom. He lifted the lid to his laptop. On the desktop, there was a camera symbol. He double-clicked it and four camera screens appeared. "If anything makes contact with the cabin or dojo, a silent, flashing alarm goes off on the wall by my bed and I come over here to check my footage. There are cameras in every room and outside both buildings on all sides. I checked your bedroom camera and saw you talking to that crow. I saw you cut the screen out and leave. The cameras didn't see where you went, so I don't know why you followed it in the first place."

Well Robin wasn't about to tell him. Instead, he asked, "So…what's my history lesson?"

Slade went back to close the window and then turned to him. "The lesson is that I have cameras everywhere. Well, almost everywhere."

Robin looked at the floor, feeling stupid. "Oh."

The room got quiet. Slade stared at Robin for a long time, watching him play with his tail. His eyes slowly narrowed softly. Stepping around behind him to stand on his left, he placed his arm over his shoulder and held him to his side. Robin's tail fell from his slack grip and he turned his head to the right to see his arm, his eyes slightly wide in confusion. What the heck was up with that?

"Robin, there is something that's been on my mind for a while now and I think it's about time to tell you what that is." Slade started to guide Robin to the door. "I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this without discomforting you, but I've noticed something different about you. I've noticed something that I never would normally say to you or anyone else." They stepped out of the room. Grabbing both arms, Slade turned Robin around and pressed his back to the wall. Robin's heart started pounding in his chest. His tail was fidgety and trying to get his attention, but the fierceness of Slade's eye paralyzed him. "You may or may not remember me saying this when I first found you after your wolf transformation, but I'm going to repeat it either way. Even _after _you became a human again, I still stand by what I said." Slade paused, probably for dramatic effect. Regardless, Robin didn't like it. "You are very adorable, Robin."

Robin's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?"

Slade took a step closer, pinning him to the wall. "Last night, while chasing you through the trees, I couldn't help but notice how adorable and cute you were being. For the first time in a long time, I had fun. And, just now, when you played with your tail, I couldn't help but think it was the cutest thing in the world. As I've already said, I've never felt this way toward anyone and have never told anyone what I just told you. I feel like a void, that has been a part of me for a very long time, has finally been filled since you've been here. I know it's only been a few days, but sometimes these things happen in a short amount of time. I haven't had these feelings that I have now for a very long time. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Robin hadn't a clue. He literally needed Slade to spell it out for him because he was stumped. Suddenly, the words that the wolf said to him entered his mind: _hiding true feelings. _Robin realized what the wolf was talking about now. Slade was hiding or bottling up his feelings. But what feelings were those? Were they good or bad? Robin suddenly felt like he didn't want to know.

"What are you trying to say? You're just as confusing as the crow and the wolf. Just spit it out!" Robin's eyes widened in surprise. His face turned beet red. "Wh-What…?"

A strange sensation jolted through his gut. Slade stared at his face as he continued to gently knead his knee into his crotch. He then leaned his face in close. "I want you, Robin. I want you to be mine and only mine. I want you to give yourself up to me and stay by my side for as long as you live. I want you to give me _everything_."

Robin was stunned for a split second. Then, quickly lifting his hands, he tried shoving Slade away by the shoulders. "N-No! This isn't right!" Slade gripped his arms tighter and shoved him back against the wall. "STOP TOUCHING ME!"

"Robin, calm-"

Growing out his claws, Robin smacked him in the face, hearing his mask crack as he slashed into it. Slade's head jerked to the side, giving Robin enough room to slip out from against the wall and run down the hall. Regaining his balance, Slade threw his mask off and ran after him. He caught up to him halfway into the living room and then tackled him to the floor. Robin growled as his heavy weight fell on him.

"Get off me!"

Slade got up slightly, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him around. Ignoring the fact his face was exposed, Robin quickly slashed into it with his right hand. Slade growled in pain as blood splattered the floor. Placing his hand to his good eye, he sat back and clenched both shut. Robin quickly kicked him in the gut after getting his legs free. With Slade half-writhing on the floor because of the burning pain in his eye, Robin was able to quickly crawl away from him. He bolted forward in his crouched position and then got up to run. After leaping over the back of the couch, Robin reached the door, yanked it open, and ran out, heading for the forest. He was only a few feet from the thicket of trees when a shadow up ahead caught his eye. He suddenly slid to a halt and then took a hasty step back, his eyes wide in fear. Coming out of the shadows, the hunter, Clay, appeared, a shotgun in his hands. He was a little roughed up and had a few cuts and scrapes on his face. Bruises covered the visible parts of his arms. The butt end of a cigarette hung limp in the corner of his mouth, which had a split bloody lip.

"You're such a pain in my ass," he said, spitting it out. "I've trekked through this damn forest alone for days, no thanks to your friend blowing up my truck. My men were a bunch of wimps and left me for dead. But now I've found you." Lifting the gun to his face, Clay looked through his scope and got a clear shot of Robin. He took a shaky step back while raising his hands in defense. "Say good night, boy."

Clay gently pressed his finger to the trigger, gripped the shotgun tight, and then fired. At that split second, Robin tried moving to the right. Meanwhile, Slade rolled over and slowly got to his feet. He stumbled back into the hall, entered the bathroom, and turned on the cold water. With both hands, he splashed water on his face, the claw marks stinging his face. Once the pain passed, he slowly lowered his hands and examined his eye in the mirror. The sclera was almost fully covered in veins, but they were vanishing rather fast. His eye was almost back to normal when he heard the sound of a gun go off. Pivoting, Slade's eyes widened in shock.

"ROBIN!"

Pushing away from the sink, Slade sprinted out the door, down the hallway, leaped over the couch when he was only a few feet away, and yanked the door open. Near the end of the property line, Clay stepped towards Robin, who was on the ground. He gripped his side, blood staining his fingers and hand. The bullet that hit him was a regular bullet, but it was still coated in the poison from before. Robin was too afraid to move as Clay aimed the shotgun at him with his arm outstretched.

"I'm so going to enjoy watching you scream for your life."

Clay pressed his finger to the trigger and— An _S_-shaped boomerang came hurtling through the air. Robin fell back in surprise when a blade slammed into the middle of Clay's forehead. He fell back from the force of the hit, his finger triggering the gun to go off. A bullet vanished through the air. He crashed into the ground, dead as a doornail. His shotgun had fallen from his hand. In haste, Robin tried scrambling backwards to get as far away from him as he could. Slade slid up behind him and grabbed his shoulders. Jolting out of his shocked stupor from the skin-on-skin contact, Robin jumped into his arms, lying sideways. He clenched his eyes shut tight and whimpered in fear. Slade held him close to comfort him.

"I w-was so scared…" Slade held him tight. Robin's body was shaking. "H-He shot me…"

"Shh, you're alright. He can't hurt you anymore."

"H-He shot me! With _bullets_!"

Slade ran his hand through his hair. Robin's tail wrapped around the wound tightly and his ears were flattened to his skull. His body slowly began to go numb. It stopped shaking half a minute later as the poison spread through his veins. Slade felt him going limp in his hold, making him frown.

"Robin…?"

"P-Poisoned…"

Sitting down, Slade held Robin on his legs, still holding him tight as he grew weaker. "Just let the unconsciousness consume you. You'll be fine by tomorrow."

Robin whimpered weakly as he felt his body drifting. Within seconds, his world darkened around him.

* * *

Something cold was being pressed against his skin. Eyes fluttering open, a bright light above Robin momentarily blinded him. He closed them tight and then turned his head. Opening his eyes, he saw Slade standing next to him. He suddenly hissed in pain as his sense of touch was returning.

"I apologize. I'm rubbing my special ointment on your wound. Luckily the bullet only nicked you instead of entering your intestine." Robin tried to sit up, but Slade pushed him back down. "I have to bandage the wound back up when I'm done. Be patient."

Robin relaxed against the pillow, closing his eyes and sighing. "How long was I out?"

"About thirteen hours," Slade said, rubbing what was left of the ointment on a cloth. He then grabbed a dressing roll and started unraveling it. After cutting a lengthy piece off, he started folding it together. He then taped it to Robin's side. "You'll have to rest for a day or two. The wound shouldn't take long to heal."

"Can I sit up at least?"

"I don't see why not." Placing his hands on the bed, Robin slowly and carefully lifted his back off the bed and scooted back. Slade made the backing lift up to meet him. Lowering his arms to the bed, Robin snuggled back against the pillow. "Want the blanket?"

"Sure." Grabbing the black blanket at the foot of the bed, Slade pulled it over him. "Thanks." Slade ran his hand through his hair. Robin jerked his head away. "Don't."

"Relax."

"How can I relax after what you said to me?" Slade didn't reply. Robin glared at him. "It's a good thing I'm eighteen, otherwise you'd be a pedophile for having the thoughts you do. Whether I agree with you or not, you don't go shoving your knee into people's crotches."

Slade turned his eyes away. "I shouldn't have done that, I do admit." Robin's glare softened. Slade looked back at him. "But I meant every word I said. I'm not sure when these feelings actually started, but I was surprised when I realized them. I've trained myself to be emotionless and I can usually keep them hidden. I don't know what changed me."

Robin rested back, sighing. "Well I don't like it. I like females-er girls, not guys. I'm as straight as a doornail. And, subconsciously, I always thought you were, too, but- Well, guess I was wrong."

"Perhaps not."

Robin growled lowly. "You pressed your _knee _into my _crotch_. Straight men don't do that to other guys, okay! Either you're gay, straight, or bi. Now I'm not so sure and it is _freaking_ _me_ _out_!"

Slade took a small step back. "This isn't easy on me either."

Robin blinked in surprise at that. Lowering his gaze, he placed a hand to the bandage on his wound. "That doesn't sound like you at all. Things come naturally to you. You probably would've dodged that bullet if you were me."

Slade snorted softly. "In a situation like yours, yes. But with multiple enemies, even I slip up and get hit. I have the scars to prove it."

Robin was still for a few more seconds. Lifting his right hand, he placed it to his heart. "I've been shot with bullets twice, both times with a single enemy. I have the instincts of a wolf and I couldn't sense him pull the trigger. It's pathetic. _I'm_ pathetic."

Slade wanted to tell him that he wasn't, but decided against it. Instead, he said, "You just need practice, that's all. You weren't born part wolf, so your abilities aren't hereditary." Robin didn't say anything. "I have an idea. While you are in here, meditate for half an hour. Try to tap into your hidden ability and get better. Then, once you're back to normal, we can do some agility and sensory training. I can help you hone your skills."

Robin was silent for a little while longer. Lowering his hand, he slid his hand under the blanket, grabbed his tail, and started playing with it. Slade couldn't help but stare at it. There was something about it that seemed off to him.

"…Training sounds good."

Slade came out of his reverie to look at Robin's face. He gave him a small smile before letting go of his tail and lying down more. "You should get some sleep."

Robin just nodded. After staring at him a few more seconds, Slade turned and walked away. Robin heard the infirmary door open and then close after he left. Looking at it, he stared longingly at it, wondering about his own awkward feelings. Somewhere deep down, he remembered how he felt when Slade and him had chased each other through the trees. It had been the most fun he had since returning to the Titans after his transformation was half reversed. The chase had been exciting. But he only felt that excitement when it was with Slade. Robin had been partly afraid when the hunters chased him. But obviously the situation was different. The hunters were chasing him for a reward. Slade chased Robin because he asked him to.

Deciding to sort these thoughts and feelings out later, Robin lowered himself a bit more, rolled onto his side, and curled up comfortably on the bed. Closing his eyes, he slowly drifted back to sleep, quickly forgetting about that entire day.

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Mother Nature Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

After a day, Robin was walking around again, but he didn't overdo it. He spent most of his time alone in the house. Slade had decided to give him his space after the whole confession thing. It didn't stop him from monitoring his live camera footage every now and again though. He was keeping it a secret from him as well. Robin wouldn't be happy with him if he found out.

That night at six, Robin was leaning over his dinner plate, using his fork to move his peas around lazily. Slade was trying to fix a video camera that a bird had flown into earlier that day across from him. He had to replace the cracked screen and either replace the broken wires or put electrical tape on them. Glancing up only slightly, Robin saw him concentrating.

"Are you waiting for the camera to magically repair itself there, Slade?"

Slade didn't look up as he practically mumbled, "I am trying to decide, how I should deal with these, wires. Should I replace them entirely, or just tape the exposed areas with electric tape…?"

Robin thought the answer would be plainly obvious. "If they're not snapped apart, then just patch them. No use wasting money on brand new wires that'll probably break sooner rather than later." He looked back at his plate. "And here I thought _I_ was the dumb one…"

Slade just shrugged, set the camera down, and got up. While he was gone, Robin set down his fork, picked up his plate, and then went to the sink to toss his peas in the drain. He then turned the water on to clean the sink. Slade returned with a roll of black tape. Noticing Robin by the sink as he rinsed his plate out of the corner of his eye, he looked up.

"Did you just-?"

Robin set his plate down and then turned to him. "I don't care what you do to me, I will never eat peas for as long as I live."

"That's not what I- I don't have a garbage disposal."

Robin was stone faced for a few seconds before he looked stunned and outraged. "WHAT?! Seriously?! No garbage disposal?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Honestly, who doesn't own a garbage disposal! They're one of the best inventions man has ever made! I can't believe you have so much technology, but no garbage disposal?! That's crazy! _You're_ crazy! You need your brain checked because there is definitely something wrong with you! I mean, shit!" Robin spun around, showing his back to Slade. "No garbage disposal…how pathetic…"

Slade pretended to ignore the muttered last sentence and sat back down to continue fixing the camera. Robin was putting his hand into the drain to grab the peas and then putting them back on his plate. Tearing off a piece of tape, Slade grabbed the first unraveled copper wire, twisted it tautly, and then wrapped the tape carefully around it. He kept glancing at Robin as he worked, catching every mutter he spoke.

"You're cute when you're angry."

Robin bumped his elbow against the side of the sink as he pulled his hand out a seventh time in his surprise. He slammed his pea-filled hand onto the plate, feeling and hearing them squish underneath. Slade couldn't help but smirk softly. Spinning around, Robin glared at him.

"Don't start that shit." Setting the camera down after a pause, Slade stood up, turned, and stepped towards him. Turning, Robin backed into the sink, gripping the edge with both hands. "Don't you dare…"

Stepping right up to him, Slade grabbed his hands and leaned over him. Robin stared up at his face with semi-wide eyes. Slade smiled, catching him off guard. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't picture his face to be one of a villain or killer. Slade was-

"You should…_relax_." Gently gripping his chin with his pointer finger and crook of his thumb, Slade tilted his head back only slight. Robin's claws slowly appeared on his fingertips and he readied himself to claw his face if he got any closer. "No…"

Robin gripped the sink tighter, ready to do it, but when Slade kissed him gently, he froze. He wasn't sure if it was the command or the kiss that made him do it, but it didn't matter. Slade's slightly chapped, moist lips against his own felt…felt right. But why? Why was Robin okay with another male kissing him when he was adamant about being straight? It just didn't make sense.

When Robin didn't move, Slade pressed his lips a bit harder to his mouth. Then his fingers slowly released his chin and he moved his hand to his neck. He pressed his thumb gently to his throat. That's when Robin swallowed and then right after opened his mouth a few centimeters. He wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe Slade just had a way with making others do things without having to say anything. Robin's eyes were now almost closed and his mouth was open a little wider. This allowed Slade to slip the tip of his tongue inside to cautiously explore the new territory. It brushed against Robin's teeth and then found the tip of his tongue. That's when Robin closed his eyes and relaxed completely. Taking that as a sign, Slade pursued his mouth harder, moved further up against him, and placed his other hand to his hip. His grip on his neck tightened imperceptibly as he got bolder in his escapade.

As the kissing continued, Robin's tail rose into the air and touched Slade's thigh. What was strange was the fact that it attempted to wrap around him, but it wasn't long enough. However, it wasn't weak, despite the looks of it, and it seemed able to pull Slade's waist right into Robin's navel. In turn, it allowed it to wrap slightly around him, almost possessively. Robin wasn't aware of it since he was too preoccupied with the man's tongue massaging his own, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was Slade and the way he overpowered him by touch alone.

Almost as soon as it started, Slade stopped and pulled away slightly. Robin's breathing was more elaborate and he didn't seem to notice that he had stopped. Slade examined his less than flushed face, trying to picture what it would look like if he allowed him to go further. Suddenly feeling the tail tip brush lightly against his ass, he unnoticeably lowered his hand from his neck and lightly caressed it. It bristled under his touch and Robin regained full consciousness. Gritting his teeth and growling ever so lightly, Robin slapped him in the face. Slade's head turned to the left a bit. Robin shoved past him and headed for the hall.

"Go buy yourself a goddamn garbage disposal."

Slade's arms were at his sides now that the hip and tail was gone. Looking at the floor, he chuckled softly. In the bathroom, Robin was washing his hands. His lips were still tingling somewhat and felt a bit wet. Even his tongue was feeling the aftereffects of Slade's poison. He raked his teeth across it, trying to make it go away. After washing his hands, he gripped the sides of the sink and then looked into the mirror. He saw his tired reflection staring back at him. Robin wasn't sure what to think about the kiss in terms of what it all meant. It wasn't because he had never kissed anyone before, but the fact that it almost felt the same way as his first kiss. Not in the sense of texture of the lips, but of how it made him feel emotionally. Physically it was different, but the emotional aspect was the same. Robin hated to admit it, but he had enjoyed Slade's kiss. Problem was, he didn't know whose kiss he liked more.

Sighing, Robin lowered his gaze and then stepped away. He dried his hands on the hand towel on the wall opposite the toilet and then left. He entered his room, ignored the darkness around him, and got into bed, falling asleep instantly.

* * *

Two days later, Robin decided to start training again, now that he was mostly back to normal. His side no longer hurt and he felt better. He had also forgotten the kiss he and Slade had shared the other night. Slade had just taken advantage of his weakened state from the garbage disposal rant and it meant nothing. _Absolutely_ nothing. That's how Robin saw it and that's how it would stay.

For the first part of training in the early afternoon, he programmed a robot to simply be a punching bag. It wouldn't move or defend itself from his attacks. For an hour he attacked it, as a warm-up. Then he changed the program to that of a defense robot. It would attempt to block all of Robin's attacks, but not attack back. He wanted to build up more speed, physically and mentally. If he could figure out how to instantly counter a block, then he could break down anyone's defenses. By the time he was done with that part of his training, a bullet would never touch him again. For four hours Robin tried to counter the robot's blocks with not much success. He was making progress though and that's what mattered. Soon he'd be confident enough to never miss.

After a half hour break and three hours before dinner, Robin programmed a fighting robot that put both offense and defense into its regime. When it was ready, they stood at opposite ends of the concrete arena, staring each other down. Since this was a Level 5 robot, it wouldn't attack first. Bending his knees slightly and growing out his claws, Robin crossed his arms in front of him and, tightening his fingers, came up with a plan of attack. Once he fully had it, he threw his hands back and then charged the robot. His arms hung down to his sides, getting ready to throw an overhead swipe for its face. When he was getting close, the robot bent its knees and then charged.

For the first hour, both opponents tried to dodge the other rather than trying to hit or kick constantly. Robin had managed to tap the robot's shoulder, neck, and arms a few times each. However, it landed more near misses than he did and in more locations. Robin had even tripped once. In the next half hour their battle plans increased and became stronger. They were touching each other more often than before and Robin was getting better at reading its movements. Its speed and agility increased. Robin was having trouble stepping up. Sweat covered his face and chest and dripped constantly. His hair lay flat on his forehead, dripping with sweat. He shook it out of his eyes before the robot started trying to confuse him. It feinted several times and would run circles around him. Robin tried to keep up with it, but all the circling around was making him dizzy.

Having an idea, Robin stopped moving and closed his eyes. Keeping his ears and sixth sense raised, he let his instincts take over. The softest sound caught his enhanced ears and he thought he could see a blur in his mind's eye. Concentrating on it, Robin willed it to slow down and become predictable. He suddenly ducked as a leg came at the back of his head. Spinning around, Robin lashed out and grabbed what felt like the robot's ankle. With a firm grip on it, he jumped up and spun around, kicking what felt like the robot's head. There was a satisfying crack and a spark as his leg finished the kick. The sound of metal crashing into the floor made him drop the robot's ankle and open his eyes. He smirked when he saw it lying on the floor, its head severed a few feet away.

Standing up straight, Robin smacked his hands together as he moved them up and down opposite of each other. He was very proud of himself and was looking forward to a hot shower before dinner. After performing some stretches to limber himself up, he walked to the dojo door and pulled it open, only to be hit hard by an even faster blur than the severed-headed robot. He crashed into the floor, a growl passing his clenched teeth. The dojo door slammed shut and then beeped. Pushing his body up, Robin was about to yell at whatever hit him, but stopped, his eyes widening. Swallowing, he stood up.

"Something tells me you're not one of Slade's robots," he said, stepping back a few feet.

Yes, this robot was _much_ more different from Slade's. Instead of black, its parts were of shining silver. It had a smooth, pill-shaped head with no eyes attached to a neck with many thick wires attached to its chest and shoulders. Its body was slim and covered in silver metal. Its feet were also made of metal and the toes were long and sharp. The hands were covered in silver gloves with metal cuffs around the wrists. In certain places the thick wires were exposed, mostly in the legs and neck area. The robot had a mouth that looked like a jagged line, like teeth, and it remained closed. The robot didn't attack, which unnerved Robin. Where had it even come from? Did Slade know it was here?

_'Probably not,' _Robin thought. He growled at the robot. "What do you want?" Robin tensed when the robot lifted and crossed its arms in front of its chest. Sharp blades on each finger slowly came out. They were fairly thin compared to its pointed toes. Robin snorted. "Hell, I have those." Lifting his own hands, he allowed his claws to come out. The robot was still momentarily before retracting the blades. Robin smirked. "Not as tough as you look." The words hardly left his mouth before long, sharp blades came out of the robot's wrists. Robin suddenly looked disheartened, his eyes wide. "Well shit-"

With faster speed than Slade's robot, the fighter-bot attacked. Robin didn't have time to react before the force of it knocked him back. After crashing into the floor, he rolled over and slid back on his hands and feet. He dug his claws into the floor, shifted his knees into alignment, and then charged the robot. It, too, moved swiftly to attack head on. Sliding around on all fours, Robin lifted his legs with the help of his hands, aiming a high kick at the fighter-bot's right blade as it attacked with it. It quickly attacked with its left blade, aiming for Robin's stomach. He quickly rolled his body to the right while lifting his left hand from the floor. The robot moved right past him, the blade stabbing the concrete floor and cracking it. Robin, with both of his hands on the floor again, back flipped to land on his feet. Being right next to it, he turned to the side and then jumped back. The fighter-bot's mouth started to open, the sound of bolts screeching as they turned coming from it. Robin's eyes slowly widened in disgust and intimidation when the robot's head slowly turned towards him, a slimy pink tongue hanging out and dripping some kind of clear blue saliva onto the floor. Robin had a feeling that if it had eyes, they would look scary and amused. But its face alone looked like it was amused to see him so freaked out and disgusted, so not having eyes didn't matter.

The robot suddenly turned, aiming its left blade at Robin's face. He quickly forced himself backwards at a far tilt, one leg tucked with the other half sticking out, his arms bent, and his elbows pointed back slightly. The robot zoomed out of sight. Robin's wolf senses couldn't detect its movements in time before he was knocked sideways in mid-air. He spun a few times, crashing into the floor twice. Crashing onto his side, he slid back, digging the nails of his left hand into the floor to stop himself. Eyes partly closed, Robin rolled and spun his legs in the air as the robot came down at him from above, the blade glinting in the light as it aimed for his chest. He managed to knock its arm away and attempted to hit its stomach with the sole of his foot. It slid right on by as it turned slightly to dodge it. With Robin's legs spread, he was completely vulnerable.

Landing with its knees on either side of him, the robot placed its hands to the floor by his shoulders and attempted to bite him. Quickly lifting his hands, Robin slammed them into its head and forced it back. He struggled to get his leg in between them to kick it off, but froze when he felt saliva on his fingers. Staring at the robot with wide, disgusted eyes, he watched it lick his hand and then wrap halfway around it. He shivered at the wetness that was making his skin crawl. Feeling disgusted, Robin finished his previous move, managing to land a hit to the robot's gut. It fell back by the force of the kick, its tongue sliding away from his hand. Robin quickly pushed hard away from it with his other foot, sliding back a bit. He then scrambled to his feet and stepped as far away as he could from the fighter-bot. That thing would not lick him again, that was for sure.

After being in its very bent back position, the robot lifted itself up and then stood. It closed its mouth, making Robin feel only the slightest bit better. He wouldn't be completely fine until this thing was destroyed. He paid close attention to its blades, which had blue liquid bubbling within them. Robin could only guess that it was an ability for the robot. Maybe the blades injected the liquid into the body when stabbed? Question was, what would the liquid do once it was inside his veins? Well, Robin was not going to find out. The blades would not slice him if he had anything to say about it.

Getting into a fighting stance, Robin pumped himself up and quickly relaxed his mind in order to concentrate. If he wanted to stop the robot, he had to calculate its position and speed in order to successfully dodge an attack and then counter. He wanted to end this quickly and smoothly. Finally feeling refreshed, Robin charged, his claws at the ready.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Slade was setting up the kitchen to make dinner. He was unaware of Robin's predicament. Luckily it wouldn't take long to make the boxed dinner he had planned: macaroni and cheese that had the large curved noodles with bacon pieces, green beans and corn, and a salad. Robin needed something hearty for once if he ever wanted to fully recover quickly. He boiled the water, poured in the macaroni, and stirred. After fifteen minutes he was adding the bacon to the cheesy noodles after draining the water and then started on the corn and beans. He added salt and pepper to both, stirred, and then lowered every burner to simmer. He threw the box and cans away, cleaned up the kitchen a bit, and then headed for the dojo. Slade hoped Robin was finishing up so that he didn't have to wait long. Reaching the door a few seconds later, he typed in the code and frowned. ACCESS DENIED had flashed on screen. Thinking he may have hit one too many numbers, he tried again, carefully this time. The same message appeared. At that moment, Slade knew something had to be wrong. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened carefully. He heard intense fighting going on and Robin issuing battle cries every so often. It sounded like he was in trouble. Typing in a much different code, a window appeared in the door and Slade looked through it. Yards away he saw Robin getting thrashed around by something extremely fast.

They soon inched closer to the door. Robin turned to where his back faced Slade, holding his arms up around his face in defense. That's when Slade saw the fighter robot, which really didn't belong to him, appear in front of a surprised Robin. It jumped in the air, spun around in a kick, and sliced into his arms with its clawed toes. He was sent flying towards the door, crashing harshly into it. The window shuddered and cracked and Slade had to step back in surprise. Robin managed to keep his footing, but he was leaning tiredly against the door, panting heavily.

"Robin, are you alright?!"

Robin heard Slade behind him. Standing up straight on shaking legs, he stepped away from the door, about two feet. "G-Get in here!"

"I can't! The pass code changed! You'll have to stall it so I can crack it!"

The robot was already coming in for another attack. Quickly crouching on all fours, Robin bolted sideways and ran, keeping a close eye on the robot. It changed its course and chased him.

"Slade, hurry!"

Going back to the number pad, Slade started typing in every code imaginable, from one number to a whole bunch. He stumbled a few times, seeing as the device wasn't very wide. So far, every attempt was 'access denied'.

"Come on!"

Back in the room, Robin was still running circles around the robot, panting and losing strength fast. Finally looking away from it, he ran forward normally, heading for the wall. He heard the robot getting closer. With his idea going according to plan, he slowed a bit and then jumped at the wall. The robot followed suit, a blade at the ready. What it didn't count on was Robin's powerful jump. Pushing hard off the wall, he turned and leaped right over its head. The blade entered the wall and the robot got stuck. Robin fell and landed ungracefully to the floor, landing and rolling a few feet. He quickly got to his feet and ran clumsily back towards the door.

"What's t-taking you so l-long!"

Slade pushed enter again and still got ACCESS DENIED. "The maximum number of numbers that can be used is twenty-five, so there's an infinite amount of possibilities for the new password!" he explained, still typing and getting the same obnoxious message. "I'm typing as fast as I can!" Slade started to look up. "Just hold-! Robin, behind you!"

Robin had been paying so much attention to Slade that he didn't hear the robot behind him. It grabbed his arm and threw him back towards the middle of the room, his hair flying in front of his face. Robin crashed headfirst into the concrete, his ears getting smashed against his skull. He blacked out only briefly from the hard hit. When he opened his eyes, the robot was beside him, lifting its foot to slam it into his chest. The floor cracked underneath him from the force and he coughed up spit. He fell back after it lifted its foot off. Robin lay there a moment before placing his hands behind his head and jumping to his feet. Growling angrily, he aimed a fast punch to the robot's face. It stumbled backwards several feet before it regained its footing. Robin didn't give it time to recover. He punched its face again and again, forcing it to keep moving back.

The fighter-bot suddenly spun to Robin's right to dodge his next punch. It opened its mouth again, its tongue coming back out. Robin turned to face it. It charged him, saliva flying through the air. It snatched out at him with its hand, but Robin sidestepped to the right and aimed his arm at its mouth. It went in and, as he yanked, tore the top half of the robot's head clean off. The jagged edges sliced into his arm as it fell off after he threw it. Robin stepped forward a few times before stopping and turning to see the damage. His eyes filled with shock and disappointment. The robot was still standing and moving about and its tongue was hanging limp from its base. Its equilibrium was slightly off, which it showed when it started to turn around to face Robin again. He took hasty steps back as the robot clumsily followed him.

Meanwhile, back outside, Slade's fingers were slowing way down from all the hard work. They ached despite his healing ability. It was taking much longer to mend the tendons and muscles since he was still active. Soon they seized up and he had to take a break. Looking through the window, he saw Robin's amazing feat with the top half of the robot's head. He saw the dripping tongue hanging out and wondered why it had such a thing. It was creepy to say the least. And that was saying something, seeing as Slade was used to creepy. With Robin okay and his fingers finally feeling better, he looked back at the numbers and was about to start pushing 3 when something struck the back of his mind. Maybe…

Closing his eyes, Slade lowered his head and chuckled lightly. "Is it really that simple?" Without pressing any numbers, he clicked Enter. ACCESS GRANTED flashed on screen and the door slid open. "So convenient and yet so frustrating…"

If you really wanted to fool hackers, don't set a password because they would eventually give up trying due to frustration. Slade entered the room and saw Robin backing up towards the wall. Since he needed help, he ran towards the robot, his hand curling into a fist at his side.

Robin had no more room to go. He bumped into the wall and stopped due to weakness. He felt extremely tired from the long battle. The robot stopped in front of him, lifted one of its blades, and thrust forward. Lifting his arm, Robin clenched his eyes shut tight and braced himself. He felt the blade pierce him, but it missed the bone and tendon. Blood splattered the floor. The sound of sparking parts suddenly resounded around him. Slowly opening his eyes, Robin saw Slade's arm sticking out of the robot's chest, a round piece with tubing and wiring sticking out of the ends of the axle clenched tightly in his hand. The fighter-bot had stopped moving entirely, its tongue hanging straight down. It still dripped its blue saliva.

Dropping the part from his hand, Slade slowly pulled his arm out and then stepped to the robot's right side. Grabbing its wrist, he yanked the blade out of Robin's arm and then pushed the robot over. It crashed loudly into the floor, lying motionless and dead. Its tongue rolled back into its throat, almost as if it swallowed it. Robin let out a huge sigh as he relaxed, dropping his head.

"Thanks." Grabbing his wrist, Slade examined his arm. The blood was partly crusted over the wound. Upon closer inspection he saw a faint blue liquid inside the gash. Robin looked down at it too, saw the unknown liquid, and wondered what it could be. Like a ton of bricks, he felt his body start to weaken even more and his vision was blurring. He instantly recognized the effect and groaned. "Man, not again!"

Slade glanced up at his face. "What?"

Robin's knees gave way and he fell. Slade quickly caught him before he could hit the floor. Robin rested his head against his chest and slowly lowered his eyelids. "More damn…poison," he said weakly, before closing his eyes and collapsing into Slade.

With Robin unconscious, Slade ran his hand through his hair and then scratched the back of one ear. A soft smile graced his lips. For now, he fantasized that Robin was merely asleep and completely unaware of the amazing, gentle touch. Which was true, minus the sleeping part. The fantasy quickly ended as he remembered dinner and the fact that it was probably ruined. And Robin's wounds needed tending to. So, picking him up in his arms like a five year old, Slade turned and headed out of the dojo, leaving the robot behind.

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Mother Nature Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Aren't you glad I'm so generous? :D Sunday and you get another update. This is the last time though because I still have one more chapter to finish and it might take a little while still. Also, we're almost half done! Cool, huh? Chapter 11 is the halfway point! There's still a lot of goodies before the finale, so stay tuned!

**SladinForever**

* * *

Robin wasn't sure what the feeling was on him, but he didn't care because it felt good. He didn't even care where it was coming from and where it was on him—because it traveled through his entire frame—as long as it was there. He didn't want this amazing, unknown feeling to go away, so he tried to cling to it. But, maybe he didn't have to? What if the one giving him this feeling, if that was its place of origin, was going to let him keep it regardless? That would definitely be kind of them. The feeling was so nice that he didn't care about anything else. Well, maybe he wished to know who was giving this feeling to him and why. But other than that, he just wanted the feeling to stay.

Feeling the sensation more between his ears now, Robin tilted his head to the left to get as close to it as possible. The feeling was almost caress-like. Then he felt something grip his ear affectionately and tug it ever so gently. With more of his canine instinct gaining control, Robin wanted to roll over on his back and feel the sensation on his tummy. He realized he was already on his back, however, and was probably in that position the whole time. Closing his eyes, he tried to scoot backwards with his feet to see if the feeling could move to his stomach, but the top of his head bumped into something. A whine escaped him when he realized he couldn't move much. But the sensation came back quickly, pressing down on the top of his head and relaxing him. He felt his hair being pushed back as the feeling traveled from his forehead and back to the top of his head again. It repeated constantly, making Robin drowsy again.

That was odd, wasn't it? One moment he was fully awake and, the next, was feeling sleepy. Unless he had been asleep the whole time? Robin soon wondered where he was. Moving just his eyes, he noticed that darkness surrounded him. Which was odd because he could see himself just fine. Confusion filled him then. Maybe he really was asleep! If that was true, then- Robin closed his eyes tight and then began to slowly open them…

* * *

Robin's eyes fluttered open. He blinked several times due to the overhead lights. Soon, he felt the pressure of a hand on his head. It felt great. He'd forgotten all about the dream he had with the same sensation he felt now.

"Good morning." Still slightly groggy from his deep slumber, Robin slowly turned his head and blinked. Sitting in a chair was Slade. He was leaning over his bed, one arm laid out in front of him while the other was behind his head. His hand was petting him in between his ears. "Sleep well?" With eyes half open, Robin glanced around and saw that he wasn't in the infirmary, like his first thought was. The room wasn't his either. So where was he? Robin had been in this room before, but only for a very brief time. He couldn't quite remember it. "You're in my bed, just so you know." Robin seemed undisturbed by this notion for a moment before he jolted. He was in Slade's bedroom, lying in his bed, with Slade right next to him. Seeing his expression, Slade laughed gently. "You don't need to worry, little bird. I've only been petting you. I have not performed perverse actions upon you. I would never do that to you if you were sleeping. But, now that you're awake…"

This got Robin's attention instantly. Closing his eyes, he turned his face away, lifted his arms, and grabbed Slade's hand and arm with both hands, trying to shove it away. "Stop it. 'M not a dog."

"No, but you have been acting like one," Slade informed, not moving no matter how hard Robin tried. "You must have been dreaming while I was petting you because you leaned into my touch. Perhaps you wanted to have something else petted?"

"Nuh-uh!"

Slipping his hand underneath the one on top of his head, Robin managed to push it away. But then Slade did the strangest thing: he spread out their fingers. Robin froze and then looked at their hands. His were obviously smaller than Slade's, but that's not what was strange about it. It was the strange act of doing this that got his attention. 'What was the point' was the big question. What did doing this signify? Robin felt so confused. All he could do was look at him with a questioning gaze. Slade just stared back with firm, emotionless eyes.

After a few more seconds, Robin slowly lowered his hand back down. Slade did the same but with his whole arm.

"Why'd you do that?" Robin asked softly.

"Despite who we are and what we do, we're still the same," Slade said wisely. Robin didn't get it. "Perhaps that's an explanation for another time." Robin wanted to know now, but decided not to venture. After a few more seconds of silence, Slade started to stand, placing his hands on the edge of the bed for momentum. "Anyway, I made sure to rid that robot of his poison blades. The gash on your arm isn't too severe. I don't want you using it too much until it's fully healed though." Slade placed his chair back in front of his desk. "Breakfast is on the table."

Robin watched Slade leave the room, the door closing behind him. He sat there in bed for a little while longer before falling back down, placing his arm across his eyes, and sighing.

"Damn you…"

Slade made Robin feel odd, more so than ever now. It was the touch, he decided. He first had felt it when he had kissed him. It was getting stronger with each new advance and it drove Robin crazy. He loved Starfire and he almost felt like he was betraying her.

_She betrayed you first._

Robin clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. There was a small bit of truth in that. Starfire had agreed on kicking him out of Titans Tower along with the others. It hurt him to hear her verdict on the matter. He was sure she felt hurt too, but she could've said no regardless, but she hadn't. Robin's ears bent back and all the way down as he replayed their meeting in his head. He was still and silent, but a tear tracked out of the corner of his left eye. Robin missed them so much that it really hurt. What he wouldn't give to see their happy, smiling faces again…

Quickly sitting up, Robin rubbed his arm across his eyes vigorously. He shouldn't cry. They did what they had to do and it was all for the best. Besides, he was working on controlling his instinctual urges. Maybe one day he would return to Jump City and see the Titans. He would show them that it was okay for him to be on the team again. That would be his determination for the next year or two. Robin would never forget his friends and he would see all of them together one day. He felt it to be so, in the bottom of his heart.

* * *

After one extra day of bed rest, Robin was up and doing chores again. He had to use his right arm only, so it was somewhat of a pain to do them. But he persevered. Robin was now outside underneath a tree with thick branches. With his right hand, he gripped the lowest branch and was doing pull-ups, to strengthen his arm. The left was held in front of his chest in bandages. Every once in a while he wanted to grab the branch with both hands but quickly remembered that he couldn't. After two hundred pull-ups, Robin dropped down and worked on regaining his breath as he made his way for the house. A cold glass of water was calling to him from inside and he would welcome it with open…well, with an open hand. Going to the fridge when he entered the kitchen, he grabbed the pitcher and then grabbed a cup from the dish drainer. He drank not one, not two, but _three_ glasses of cold water and it was very refreshing. When he had cooled off, he put the cup in the sink, the pitcher in the fridge, and then had to use the bathroom.

Elsewhere, Slade was in the dojo, looking at several test tubes with the blue poison in them. He was working on a counter-poison and he needed to test the tubes to see what the poison was made out of. There was no telling if the person that wanted Robin, and would pay hunters to capture him, would come up with another way to poison him again. So the antidote was necessary. It was more of a precaution than anything else. Slade was going to keep Robin safe, no matter what.

Something suddenly beeped a few feet from Slade's left. Grabbing the edge of the work bench, he slid himself in his chair over to a monitor. Camera footage was playing on the screen. It was of Robin doing his pull-ups with the tree. He was bare-chested and working up a sweat. Slade zoomed in to watch him. He observed how his legs would always fold as he pulled up and then straighten out when he came back down. Looking higher, Slade watched his stomach sink in when he was at the bottom and also as he was reaching the top. His back always stayed perfectly straight and the lower half of his body never swung. Robin was very composed and his breathing was steady. The muscles in his arm tightened and then released with each up and down motion. Slade was amazed at his indefatigability and strength. Robin was doing all right in his eye.

After his two-hundredth pull-up, he saw Robin drop down fluidly and then head inside. With the footage taped, Slade rewound it and zoomed into his stomach even more. Then he put it in slow motion and started watching it all over again. After staring at the not-so-distinguishable abs for a few more seconds, Slade couldn't help but lick his suddenly dry lips. He stared even more intently at the belly dance-like motion of Robin's stomach and was flowing into a trance.

The next thing Slade saw was the tightening of the stomach under a large, bare hand that he recognized as his own. It pressed firmly to the left side abs and then moved back and forth only a few centimeters across it. His other hand appeared, this time closer to Robin's right hip. As the hand gently squeezed it, his back arched slightly and Slade heard a sound halfway between a gasp and a moan coming from him. Soon he saw more of the big picture. His head was just above Robin's crotch and his eyes were closed as he licked his stomach. Slade's right hand moved to his breast and massaged it with his palm. Robin released another half-growl, half-moan when he moved to his penis and engulfed the head. Robin jerked his head back, his mouth wide open as he cried out softly. Slade sucked and licked the hardening organ, his saliva covering every inch of penis and ball sack. Robin was now panting and moaning as the hot mouth ensnared him in its blissful trap. He gripped Slade's white hair tightly, his spread legs tightening with each new suck. His back remained arched and his body jerked as the throat muscles tightened around him.

Back in the lab in his chair, Slade had his own legs spread, his feet planted firmly on the floor. His belt was slack behind him. In his right hand, he held his penis and was jerking his hand on it as he masturbated with the image in his head. His eyes were closed and his moans came out as grunts more than anything else. His erection was swelling almost to twice its normal size and veins covered it as the blood rushed to it. After a few more jerks of his hand, Slade stopped, let the intense pleasure linger for five seconds, and then jerked his hand a final time. Cum burst out of the tip and fell with a splat on the edge of the chair and concrete floor. Instead of crying out, he grunted loudly. His limp hand moved a few more times on his shaft before he stopped completely and tried to regain his breath.

Putting his arms on the arm rests, Slade relaxed and leaned his head back. It only took a minute for him to regain composure. Slowly lifting his head and opening his eyes, he reached for the monitor power button and pushed it to turn it off. The screen flashed to black. Sitting up straighter, Slade stuffed his penis back in his pants, zipped himself, and buckled his belt back into place. He then got up, reorganized his work area, and then headed for the house.

Robin stretched and yawned as he headed down the hallway. Reaching Slade's room without much thought, he headed straight for the bed. He really needed a nap after working so hard half the day. Besides, his arm throbbed and he needed to relax it. Pulling back the covers, he got in, turned on his right side, and laid his bandaged arm in front of him. His fingers gently gripped the sheet. He closed his eyes and inhaled and exhaled a deep, loud breath. Once he was content, Robin drifted off to sleep, not knowing Slade was watching from the doorway.

Robin slept the entire night and was up at six-thirty. Before using the bathroom and getting up for breakfast, he did a few crunches on the bed and then stretched out with a sharp inhale and a strange noise that stayed mostly in his throat. When he was satisfied, he turned easily on the silky sheets and then jumped to his feet. After his business was done, he went to the kitchen and readied himself a bowl of sweetened rice Chex with soy milk. He didn't know where Slade was, but didn't really care. As long as he wasn't around, Robin was content.

That content didn't last long as Slade entered the kitchen a few minutes later, bringing in his tool box and setting it on the counter by the sink. Robin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye as he drank the remaining milk in his bowl, wondering what he planned on doing. After the bowl was empty, he set it down and looked at Slade better.

"What're you doing?"

Slade put up one finger without looking at him, left the kitchen for almost a minute, and then returned with a new sink. He set it on the table and then fished out some screws. "I bought you your garbage disposal."

Robin blushed slightly in embarrassment. "I didn't actually mean it. I was just annoyed and blurted something out."

Slade just shrugged and then left again for another minute. He returned, this time with a new faucet and tubing for the drain. Robin was mildly stoic as he watched him get to work on removing the old sink and tubes.

"You won't be able to use any water for a few hours," Slade said as he took everything out of the sink cupboard. Grabbing a wrench, he got on his back and moved underneath the sink to loosen the base of the drain tube. Robin got up to place his bowl on the opposite counter, to keep it out-of-the-way. "If you need to use the bathroom, you'll have to do it outside."

Leaning his elbow on the edge of the counter, Robin stood next to Slade, looking down at him. "Want any help?"

"No. You need to keep that arm safe. Do some meditation or something."

Robin saw Slade set a nut beside him and then let the tube hang before standing up straight and heading out. Slade continued his work in silence, one knee up while the other leg was straight out. Deciding to do something with one of the trees, Robin went outside, found a slightly thin, white-spotted one, and started clawing at it with his right hand. In only a couple of minutes, the tree snapped and tipped. Robin heard it crash to the forest floor and felt the tremor under his feet. Walking to the fallen trunk, he grabbed the end with his right hand and started dragging it more towards the open area of the property. Placing one foot at six feet from the bottom, he tilted the end up and snapped it. He heard the wood splinter and break as he did it. Robin then sat down, bent his knees so that they were up, and held the piece of wood with both hands in between his slightly spread legs, staring at it in concentration. Once he had an image in his head, he started to carefully dig into the wood with a claw on the smoother end.

For the next two and a half hours, Robin carved a figure out of the trunk piece, taking off big chunks at a time. Now he was carving small details into the blocky figure. The shape was coming along nicely and he was satisfied with the look so far. After another hour, he was rubbing his thumb across the rougher edges, trying to smooth it out better. This took about forty-five minutes to complete. When he was completely done, he set the wood figure in the palm of his hand and examined it.

Robin had made a sitting wolf figurine. Its snout was to the sky, howling. The tail was wrapped around its haunches and the ears were back. Robin smiled at it, feeling accomplished. After a few minutes, he got up and headed inside to show Slade. Entering the kitchen, he saw him installing the faucet to the sink.

"Can I show you something?" Robin asked carefully.

Slade adjusted the faucet until it was perfectly straight and then turned his head to see him. Robin stepped closer and held the wood wolf out to him. Carefully taking it in his hand, Slade examined it, turning it over a few times as he looked at the amazing detail. He felt how smooth it was with his pointer finger. When he was done after a few minutes, he handed it back.

"It's very good."

"I want to mail it to the Titans."

Slade just jerked his head up in a nod and then turned back to the sink. "I will buy a box and bubble wrap to ship it in. You should write your friends a letter."

Robin smiled. "Thanks. And I will."

Turning around, Robin went off to Slade's room. Going to his desk, he set the figure down and sat in his chair. He grabbed paper, a pen, and wrote up a quick letter, telling the Titans that he wanted them to have the wolf figurine and that it was a token of their friendship and that he'd see them all again one day. Once satisfied with it, he folded it in half and then set the figure on top of it. Yawning, Robin went back to the bed and crawled onto it, plopping down on his stomach and rubbing his head into the pillow briefly. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and then tried to fall asleep. He didn't know how much time had passed before he felt the blanket being pulled over top of him. Not bothering to open his eyes, he continued to snooze, his arms tucked under the pillow. His head was turned so that his face faced the right. He breathed slow and deeply, ignoring whatever sounds Slade was making at his desk. After a while he heard him leave, the door closing gently behind him. Thinking that maybe he was going to go buy a box and bubble wrap, Robin tried harder to fall asleep. Within minutes, he was out like a light, hardly remembering anything.

* * *

The front door opened and Slade walked inside. He set the keys to his car and house in the small, wooden tray on the tall, square table and then headed for his bedroom. It was about time for Robin to wake up and get a normal sleep schedule. He needed to rebandage his arm anyway and it was easier to do that when the hurt party was awake. Entering his room, he walked straight to the edge of the bed and shook Robin's shoulder. He twitched in his deep sleep, but that was it. Crouching, Slade lowered the blanket from his arm and pulled him onto his back by the shoulder. He then shook him again, harder this time.

"Robin, you have to wake up."

Robin's eyes tightened and he groaned heavily in his sleep. Sighing out of his nose, Slade lifted his eyelid and saw his eyeball moving rapidly in his sleep. That meant he was dreaming, and heavily at that. Slade wondered what he was dreaming about, so he listened, in case he spoke in his sleep. For several minutes Robin laid completely still and quiet. So Slade tried waking him up again, shaking his shoulder and speaking to him. Suddenly, Robin's eyes seemed to open just a few centimeters and he parted his lips only a tiny bit. Slade shook his shoulder one more time.

"Mmm, Slade…" Robin mumbled.

"You have to wake up now," Slade said. "You've been sleeping too much." Robin's eyes continued to open centimeter-by-centimeter, but it seemed he was still asleep. He said something, but Slade didn't catch it. He leaned in closer. "Hm?"

In his half asleep state, Robin was looking dimly at Slade. Slowly lifting his hand, he touched his jawline. "Slade…?"

"Yes?" Robin touched more of his cheek, using two fingers instead of one. "Robin…?"

Leaning up towards his face more, Robin parted his lips and reached for Slade's mouth. "Kiss…" he breathed.

Slade chuckled lightly. "No."

"_Please_…"

Slade ran his hand through his hair. "Maybe."

Placing his hand near his neck, Robin hesitantly touched his lips for only a moment then stopped. His eyes closed and his hand faltered. Slade waited patiently, knowing his mind was trying to force him awake. Not long after, his eyes began to open again and he seemed to be gaining consciousness. He was coming out of his slumber, little-by-little. Slade leaned his face in again, to where their noses were almost touching, and gently gripped his hair. Softly kissing Robin, who opened his mouth a little wider, he slipped his tongue in between his lips and touched the tip of his own. It jerked to meet his and they pressed them together. Soon, they were kissing each other a little harder. Robin's eyes were still partly closed and he was breathing rather hard, but that was the lack of oxygen from sleep mainly. Realizing this, Slade hoped his brain was still groggy enough to not come to his senses about the kissing.

That hope was soon crushed when Robin said, "N-No…" Slade tilted his head back to kiss harder, trying to shut him up, but Robin wouldn't have it. "Slade, s-stop. I can't…" Listening to him for once, Slade grabbed his hand, lowered it off his neck, and stared at him. "I d-don't want you, I want S-Starfire…"

Placing his arm down, Slade stood up and stared down at him. "She hurt you."

Robin lowered his gaze. "So did you. _More_ than once."

"…I deserve that." Robin smiled weakly. "What were you dreaming about?"

Robin looked at him. "Her."

Slade smirked. "You sure? Because you spoke my name when you were still asleep."

Sitting up, Robin grinned. "You must be hearing things. You _want_ me to dream about you, so you thought it and heard it in my voice when I spoke."

"Your theory is plausible, but I doubt it," Slade said lightheartedly. Robin just shrugged. "All right, get up and I'll make you lunch."

Turning, Slade left the room. After some stretching and yawning, Robin got out of bed, used the bathroom, and then headed for the kitchen. Entering, he saw Slade fishing out sandwich ingredients from the refrigerator.

"Turkey and ham for me," Robin piped up as he sat down.

Slade shook his head. "I'm going to make you one of my specialties."

Robin frowned playfully. "Ew, surprises. Me no like."

"And don't peek."

"Fine."

For the next several minutes, Slade made Robin's sandwich, which consisted of turkey, roast beef, mayonnaise, lettuce, relish, blue cheese dressing, chopped onions, and barbeque sauce. Then he lightly toasted it in the microwave—it was a multipurpose microwave that Slade had constructed himself. With plate in hand, he walked over to the table and set it down in front of him.

"While you eat, I'm going to rebandage your arm."

Robin just nodded and then lifted the sandwich, which was on multi-grain bread, and sniffed it. Slade just shook his head before going to get the first aid-kit. Once his scent inspection was complete, Robin took a small bite and taste-tested the sandwich. Slade then returned with the first-aid kit box. He was taking a bigger bite when he sat down next to him and opened the box. Robin's eyes widened before closing and he moaned lowly. Slade jerked his head up in surprise at hearing it. For ten seconds Robin savored the taste of the bite and then swallowed it. Once he recomposed himself, he stared hungrily at the sandwich.

"Can I marry this sandwich?"

Robin took an even larger bite as Slade chuckled. "I'll never make you anything else again."

Thinking that was a great plan, Robin continued eating the amazing sandwich in silence while Slade worked on his arm. About ten minutes later and both were done with their task. When every bite of sandwich was consumed, Robin leaned back in the chair and sighed in content while Slade put his supplies away.

"Best sandwich ever." Slade smiled softly in his direction and then suddenly blinked when he noticed something. Seeing him out of the corner of his eye, Robin thought something was wrong. "What?" Standing, Slade stepped closer to him, leaned over, and licked the corner of his mouth. Robin blushed, looking disturbed. "Hey now…"

Ignoring him, Slade moved to his ear and whispered seductively, "I want you."

Robin blushed a deeper shade of red. Standing up straight, Slade grabbed the first-aid kit box and walked away. Robin stared across to the other side in silence, hearing the words repeat in his head. Soon his eyes narrowed despairingly.

"But-" Robin let out a heavy breath. "I don't know."

Putting his elbows on the table, Robin placed his head in his hands and stared off into space. He didn't know what to think anymore. His feelings were all over the place and he couldn't catch them all. Unnoticeable to him, his tail touched his outer thigh and moved back and forth, as though it was caressing him in a comforting way. Robin also wouldn't notice that it relayed his inner thoughts that he couldn't feel himself. His tail seemed to notice things that he didn't. He wouldn't know that it was trying to tell him things without words. If he did, then things would be different.

But, maybe there was still hope. In his stupor, Robin saw a flicker of Slade rescuing him from the freeway cliff before he lost consciousness. Next he saw him and Slade running through the trees, trying to beat the other in their race. He could see, but not hear, them speaking and laughing after Slade had fallen onto his branch. Then he saw him grab him after the hunter had shot him and comforted him before he lost consciousness. His dream from last night then came back. He had lied to Slade about what he saw, just to stop him from feeling bad about the comment he made. In truth, Robin really had been dreaming about the man, which had a remnant of a memory to it.

One day, way back when he was Slade's apprentice, Robin had been in an obstacle course for the first time, to test his reflexes when something got in his way. He didn't know about the surprises in store; Slade didn't bother telling him about them since it would be a spur of the moment kind of thing. Near the end, Robin had to avoid laser fire from robots that were in a tank of water. To get to the other side, he had to grapple his way over. A laser beam had severed the wire and he had fallen in. As he had been under, the robots continued to fire at him. He had been severely burned and cut up from the heat, but he had fought back nonetheless and finished the course. But in his dream, it had been different. Instead, Slade had dived in once he saw the wire break and swam after him. While fending off against the robots single-handedly, he managed to swim Robin to safety and place him back on dry land. Robin's eyes had been closed and his mouth partly open. Slade had picked him up in his arms and held him close. That's when he had spoken his name in both his dream's partial consciousness and half-asleep state. Robin had been saved by him and he was truly grateful for it. So much, in fact, that he wanted to thank Slade in some way. Thus, he asked for a kiss, not realizing why he wanted such a thing. But it seemed to be the only thing he could think of; the only thing that seemed to matter to him.

When his recollections passed, Robin lowered his arms and stared at his hands. Still slightly spacing off, he saw a faded hand that was larger than his own on top of his right one. After he slowly spread out his fingers, the other hand's fingers curled and gripped it. As Robin started curling his hands into fists, the hand slowly faded away. Then he reopened them a bit, feeling something deep within his core.

**To Be Continued…**


	11. Mother Nature Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Not Mother Nature related, but I wanted to send this link to you guys of Sladin story WIPs that I started over the years but will probably never finish. They are on my Tumblr and linked by story. Here's the link to check out**—**replace commas with periods**—**: sladinforever,tumblr,com/Sladin%20Story%20WIPs Enjoy!

PS: Switching updates to Wednesday because that's my long day for work and posting will be helpful since I need to unwind. Wednesday's a perf day for updates anyway!

**SladinForever**

* * *

The next morning, Robin awoke in Slade's bed again. He lay there staring at the ceiling for several minutes without a word. Slade himself was at his desk, too engrossed in what he was reading to notice him. Robin was thinking deeply, still trying to figure things out. About what, Slade would soon find out. After a few more minutes, he got up slowly and then headed for the bathroom. Slade just continued to scroll through the news article he had received from one of his old associates that still kept in touch. He was going to show it to Robin later, knowing he'd be _very_ interested in it.

After doing his business, Robin came back out and went back to the bed. He sat down, grabbed his pillow to place it up against the headboard, and leaned back against it. His tail was wrapped securely around his waist. He scratched the back of his right ear, his left tilting to the side. After lowering his arm to the bed beside him, he stared at the back of Slade's head and blinked a few times before speaking.

"Slade?"

"Hm?"

Slade didn't take his eyes off the screen as Robin continued. "Do you remember that time as your apprentice where I had to complete that obstacle course? You know, the one that tested me on my reflexes and the way I should react when an unknown enemy appeared before me? You even commented on the fact that I hate surprises before I began."

Slade multitasked, reading and thinking back at the same time. "Hmm, I vaguely remember that, yes."

"And do you remember that I fell into a tank of water filled with robots with laser guns after a beam severed my grapple wire?"

Finishing the last sentence of the article, Slade closed out of it and then turned the chair around to see Robin. He stared back, his face blank.

"I do."

"Well, I had to fight them off while swimming to get to the other side of the tank, getting hit several times. I got scratched and burned quite a bit. I finished the track with only seconds to spare. Do you remember that?"

Slade's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. "And you're telling me all this because…?"

"Because I have a confession to make," Robin said simply. "I…I lied."

Slade raised his eyebrow imperceptibly in question. "Lied? About what, exactly?"

"What I dreamed about yesterday."

"Ah."

Robin rubbed the back of his head. "You were right, I was dreaming about you. The only reason I told you I dreamed about Starfire was because I didn't want to hurt your feelings after what I said before you asked what I was actually dreaming about. I was trying to lighten the mood, in which you took the bait and made a joke. My dream was that memory of the obstacle course, but instead of me finishing the track, you dove in and saved me all by yourself. You were holding me, probably thinking I was unconscious since I hadn't said anything. To thank you for saving me, I asked for a kiss. And you did. Then, as I was coming out of my sleep, you and I really were kissing. All last night I've been thinking about it, trying to figure out what it all meant. And I think I finally figured it out."

In Slade's head, he was in chibi form, doing the Snoopy dance. He was entirely composed physically though. "Did you now?"

Robin looked down. "Yeah. I think…" He slowly looked back up at him. "I think I want to try it out some more. I feel…_different_ about it, and I think I'm finally ready."

Slade and Robin stared at each other in silence for a long time, neither breaking eye contact. After a few seconds, Slade stood up and approached his bedside. Robin was a bit nervous as he got closer, not knowing what was going to happen next. But he was going to be ready for it, whether he liked it or not. It was about time he did something new with his life anyway. Stopping beside him, Slade sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on top of his. Robin didn't take his eyes off his face, deciding to just wait and see what happened.

"How do you want to go about it?"

Robin shrugged. "I haven't gotten that far yet. Any ideas?"

"How about a date?"

Robin smiled comically. "You? A romantic? _Never_." Slade actually chuckled at that. "In all seriousness though, that sounds like a good place to start. But I don't want to go out in public like this. So what do you suppose we do?"

Slade smiled. "We can go wherever you want to go. If you want to stay here, we can. I'll even make dinner."

Robin laughed. "I'd love to see how that turns out. I've never seen you cook a large meal in my life."

Slade patted his hand. "I make a mean lasagna, trust me."

"'Kay, I'll take your word for it," Robin said. "Dinner outside under the stars sounds like a great idea."

Slade nodded. "I'll go shopping later. What do you want to do in the meantime?"

Robin suddenly blushed. Slade tried not to smile at it. "Erm, well, maybe we could-?"

Robin couldn't say it. He was still nervous about everything. Slade came up with a solution.

"I'll go make you breakfast. You can eat it in here. You should shower while I do that."

"Okay."

Getting up, Slade headed out while Robin turned to place his feet on the floor. He got up, retrieved boxers from the closet—Slade had given him dresser and closet bar space there—and went back into the bathroom to take a nice, hot shower. Fifteen minutes later and he came out with a limp tail and wet ears. He rubbed them with his towel for quite a long time, but they were still slightly damp. Robin hated that when it came to being part wolf especially. Luckily it didn't drip. The fur usually absorbed it quite well. Not wanting to get the bed wet, he wrapped a new towel around his tail and sat down on the covers. Slade came in a few minutes later with a plate of two buttered toast slices, scrambled eggs with melted cheese, a bowl of fruit, and a glass of orange juice. Robin's mouth began to water. Stepping up beside him, Slade held the plate out to him.

"Breakfast is served, my little bird."

Grabbing the plate, Robin placed it on his lap. "Thanks. But don't call me 'little bird'. No pet names, or I'll be forced to call you Bob."

Going to the other side of the bed, Slade sat beside him. "Interesting name choice. I always associate the name Bob with tiny, cute things."

Grabbing a slice of toast, Robin bit into it. "Ith's the beth one I gotsh."

Slade chuckled, but let him eat in silence. When Robin plopped the last grape into his mouth, he felt content and full. Slade took his plate away and set it on the bedside table.

"Are you going to finish your orange juice?"

"Nah. I don't drink juice if I already had fruit. It just doesn't taste good to me."

Taking the glass, Slade drank the rest and then set it with the plate. He looked back at Robin. "What would you like to do now?"

Robin smiled weakly at him. "You decide."

Slade finally smirked. "You might regret making that choice."

"Oh really? How so?"

Rolling onto his side, Slade placed his right arm over his body, leaned in, and touched his mouth with his lips. Robin knew he had to get used to his kiss sometime, but a warning would have been nice. Slade stopped when he didn't kiss back.

"I know you know how to kiss."

Robin snorted. "Yeah, well, I'm still getting used to you doing something so un-Slade-like, that's all."

"Then picture me as someone else."

"Oh yeah? Like who?"

"Red X."

Robin barked out a laugh. "That's not going to work! I've never seen his face!"

"Then picture one," Slade suggested. "Or close your eyes."

"Okay."

Robin closed his eyes and lowered himself down a bit. Slade waited several seconds before lowering his head and kissing him again. It didn't seem like his new lover was going to return the kiss, but he was patient. And Robin did. He parted his lips two centimeters and Slade kissed him again. After a few more soft ones, he kissed harder, prodding Robin's lips with the tip of his tongue. He opened his mouth wider, letting the wet appendage in. As the kissing grew more fervent, Slade lifted his right hand and placed it on the side of his neck. He tilted his head, kissed hard, and then moved to his neck. Robin tensed, a shuddering breath escaping him. He gasped faintly when Slade lightly nipped his skin with his teeth. Stopping his next kiss, he chuckled lightly, Robin feeling the vibrations in his neck.

"Did you like that?" He licked him. "Or do you prefer that?" Robin swallowed. "Perhaps I should lick something else?"

Slade slowly began to lower his hand down his chest. Robin grabbed his fingers when they touched his left pectoral.

"Don't-"

Slade chuckled against his throat again before kissing it. "Do you want to know a secret?"

"Wh-What?" Slade lowered his mouth to Robin's collarbone and engulfed the muscle that connected the limbs together. He sucked and licked for a half a minute before lowering himself down more, kissing almost every inch of skin. Robin's whole body shivered at the foreign contact. Reaching his nipple, Slade nipped it with his teeth. "S-Slade…" Slade rolled his tongue around the bud, causing it to harden. Robin half-whined, half-moaned as the nerves traveled through his chest and stomach. Slade then moved lower still, licking the whole way. Robin whined. "O-Okay, that's f-far enough."

Slade kissed his stomach. Robin almost kicked him because he was getting too close to a sensitive area. Maybe he knew that and was trying to be a tease. It was working, he realized, since Robin felt a familiar feeling that all teenagers felt down below. What a dirty trick.

Robin eeped when Slade grabbed his hips, pushed him up, and continued lower. He was hesitant to let him start pulling his boxers off his hips. Slade didn't pull them completely off, but just enough to expose his average-sized, teenage manhood hanging between his legs. Robin felt a deep blush form on his cheeks, even though he was aware that Slade had seen him butt naked before, after he helped turn him back to a human so long ago. The air was slightly cold against his bare skin and he wanted desperately to cover up again.

"A-h…"

Slade was licking right below his stomach, close to his crotch. His left hand gripped his hip gently while his right traveled up the left half of his stomach and then started massaging his breast. Robin's ears twitched uncontrollably and his tail was trying to free itself from the towel. He suddenly let out a yelp when he felt Slade's warm, wet mouth engulf his penis and start sucking on it. Out of reflex, he lowered his hands to his head and gripped his soft, white hair. Robin was panting softly now as he felt his penis harden and become erect. Soon, he was a moaning mess, gripping Slade's hair tight and tensing his legs with each lick. The man's tongue would wrap around his penis in both directions and then extend towards his balls. He didn't stop massaging his chest with his large hand as he worked. If anything, it coaxed Robin further. He couldn't help but start muttering nonsense to him as he worked his magic. Soon, he started wanting him to suck faster and harder, the need to release heavy on his mind. Robin never did have a lot of time to masturbate since he held such a busy schedule back when he led his team. He suspected that the mouth was way better than a hand, since he had never felt anything like it. It was amazing to put it simply. Robin wished he had experienced it a lot sooner, whether with another man or Starfire.

Robin mentally scolded himself. He would _never _have the courage to ask Starfire to give him head. She probably didn't even know what that _was_. Why was he even thinking about her at a time like this?

_'What the fuck is wrong with me?' _he thought.

Robin put Starfire out of his mind. He could feel his release coming, no pun intended. He returned his thoughts to Slade and his mouth. He noted the way he handled him. He was firm with his sucking, but was slow. The way Robin saw it—or felt it, as it were—Slade was prolonging the oral sex so that he could like it longer. Who wanted to last just a few seconds anyway? Robin wished this amazing feeling wouldn't end. He almost couldn't believe how loud his moaning was at this point. And, for some reason, he thought of Slade's hair, which he still gripped tightly, like a child not wanting their parent to take a new toy they wanted but couldn't have out of their hands.

_'Brain, shut up!'_

If Robin had said that out loud, he didn't care. All that mattered was his release, which seemed to be taking much longer than he thought possible for his first time. Why wasn't he coming yet? Was Slade doing something to him?

"F-F-Finish…i-it…" Robin whined. Slade was indeed doing something to him. His left hand held the base of his penis tightly, preventing him from bursting. "Oh Slade, p-please…" Under his hand, Slade felt Robin quiver as the blockage to his urethra stayed for far too long. He was waiting for the right moment to let go. When that time came, Robin would have felt the most amazing feeling ever in his, so far, short life. Any second now… "AH GOD!"

Slade felt Robin's hand grip tighten on his hair after he finally let go and came with a loud, staggering scream. His cum burst deep into his throat. He swallowed it, his muscles tightening around the deflating organ. Robin's hips bucked when the last drop of cum came out and was finally empty. He simply could not believe how wonderful everything had been. The grip on Slade's hair relaxed as his body started to shut down. Robin panted heavily, trying to regain his breath. Slade slowly lifted his head, saliva dripping down his penis. His mouth came off the head, but he licked it. Robin jerked in response as his nerves responded to the touch. Slade swallowed whatever was left before moving back up the bed. Lying half on top of him, he ran his hand through his sweating hair. Robin was still panting with his eyes closed, but they were disappearing. With a deep breath, he lay still and then slowly opened his eyes.

"Well?" Slade asked before kissing his neck.

Robin swallowed to find his voice. "A-Amazing…"

Slade chuckled in his ear. "You haven't _felt_ amazing yet. Just wait until we get to the butt sex."

Robin groaned at his choice of words. Quickly rolling over, he turned his back to Slade. "Don't say that. I don't even think I'm going to go that far."

Slade moved up against him, placing his arm around his chest. "Why not?"

"Because I'm-" Robin sighed heavily, looking at the floor out of the corner of his eye. "It's stupid…"

Slade kissed his shoulder. "What is?"

"It's stupid that I'm scared."

Grabbing his shoulder, Slade pulled Robin onto his back. "It isn't stupid, it's rational. I would think something was wrong with you if you weren't afraid."

"Why would anyone be afraid of penetration?" Robin asked. "That doesn't seem normal to me."

Slade ran his hand through his hair. "Here's a fact: even _I_ was afraid to have sex for the first time."

Robin looked disbelieving. "What? You, afraid? I don't believe you."

Slade smiled. "Oh trust me, I was. The first person I had sex with was with my deceased wife."

Robin's eyes widened slightly. "You had a wife?"

"Yes, I did. I had two sons with her. My oldest sadly passed away after she did. My youngest became mute after a rival of mine slit his throat. My wife is the reason my eye is gone. She shot me after finding out I took on the persona Deathstroke. I was a mercenary for hire. If I hadn't been him, I'd still be with them and my sons would be perfectly okay. I don't hate her for taking them away from me. It was my fault after all. Before I came out of a coma from losing my eye, she was already gone. That's about the time I simply became Slade and started terrorizing Jump City." Robin was dumbstruck. Not just by the fact Slade had fallen in love with a much younger male, but that he was once married, had kids, and had revealed part of his past to him. Robin opened and closed his mouth several times, not really sure what to say. Slade chuckled at him. "What?"

Robin shook his head to clear his brain. "It's just so… You just revealed your past to me. That's a huge step. That and I'm surprised you had a wife. I guess you aren't straight like I thought you were."

Slade snorted, amused. "You are so hell bent on sexual preferences, aren't you?"

"I can't help it! One second I think you're straight, another I think you're gay, and now this? Somehow my brain cannot comprehend. And what the heck does you revealing your past have to do with you being scared of sex for the first time?"

Slade gripped Robin's hair gently as he stared deeply at his face. "I was afraid of hurting her. Growing up, I'd been with quite a few women, but she was the first virgin woman I'd ever slept with. I loved her so much that I was afraid of hurting her. Sadly, in the end, I did, but never in a way I expected. Even the bravest of men get scared sometimes."

Robin stared longingly at Slade for a long time, not knowing what to say or think. He was slowly knowing him more and more, like he had wanted to do when he first heard his name. It was a little overwhelming for him though. Looking away from his face finally, Robin lifted his hand and stared at it.

"You're really something else, Slade. There are three sides of you that I now know of. It makes me wonder how many more there are. You seemed so kind before we met. I almost wonder what would have happened if you hadn't been searching for an apprentice."

Slade's hand came into view and grabbed his. Robin looked up at him. "After my wife left, I had become very bitter and cold. That contributed to the pain I put you and your friends through. But times have changed." Slade kissed his hand and then looked back at him. "I once was heartless, but now I'm not. I don't love you, but I care about you, and I hope that'll be enough."

Lowering their hands, Slade leaned forward and kissed him. Robin kissed back, finally feeling at ease. But how long was it going to last?

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Mother Nature Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

For the rest of the day, Robin relaxed and relayed his experiences earlier that morning in his head. Slade had left for the day to go shopping for dinner that night. The thought of having a romantic dinner with a killer never would have crossed his mind four years ago. Now he was thinking about it. A lot. Slade was still a huge mystery to him despite hearing about his past with a wife and two kids. Robin wondered what kind of kid Slade was and if he had both parents or if they had orphaned him or died. It would be a scary coincidence if his parents had been murdered right in front of him, like Robin and Bruce Wayne's parents had been. That wasn't something he wished to consider.

Robin stretched and yawned on the couch, his body stretching completely out, perky wolf ears and all. There really wasn't much to do except exercise and he didn't feel like it. After his stretch, Robin dropped his arms, his left hanging off the couch. He stared up at the ceiling, thinking of all the possible things to do at that point. There was no telling how long Slade would be gone. A smile suddenly appeared on Robin's face. Closing his eyes, he pictured Slade in his entire get-up, pushing the shopping cart through the aisles of a store. He chuckled at the hilarious image. Placing his arms behind his head, he pictured different, funny scenarios of Slade doing normal people stuff. There was a birthday party, sitting and eating in a family restaurant, attending a doctor's appointment with the Popsicle stick pressed to his tongue, and taking a bubble bath with a little yellow rubber duck sitting on his bubble-covered head. Robin was having a great time with this, his ears twitching as he laughed. His tail wagged softly before wrapping around his waist as he rolled onto his side. He faced the back of the couch, his legs scrunched up to his body. With his eyes closed, he slowly drifted into a fitful nap.

Robin didn't know how much time had passed before he felt something else on his hip. But he swore he was still asleep. Wasn't he? Or maybe Slade was back already and wanted to feel him while he was still asleep. Wow, what a creeper. But then, something changed. Robin was on his stomach, but he didn't remember rolling over. He also had his mouth open as he breathed heavy and hot. A moan bubbled in his throat and then echoed. That couldn't be right either. He was in the house, wasn't he? There couldn't be an echo. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, but the grip wasn't painful. Robin felt good actually. So good that he moaned again, louder this time. He then felt wet, warm lips kissing the side of his neck. Robin could hardly stand this amazing feeling coursing through him any longer. Opening his left eye a bit, he glanced over and saw white hair. Growling softly, he lifted his arm and managed to maneuver his hand to the back of the head, gripping the soft hair firmly. He craned his head around and closed his eyes as he felt lips on his mouth. Saliva managed to come out of the corner of his mouth as he kissed those lips hard.

Not knowing how, Robin was now on his back, his body arching. He felt something thick between his legs, but didn't dare open his eyes to see what it was. He was crying out in ecstasy as his body was filled completely. Something wet touched his chest, kissing him there. Everything was just too much, but he was enjoying every minute of it. Robin wished he knew what was going on.

_Robin…_

The voice Robin heard sounded very far away, but it was familiar. He heard it again, louder this time. Something ached in between his legs, but he didn't know why or what. The voice returned, saying his name over and over again. Turning his head to the right, Robin growled.

"Robin!" Robin's eyes snapped open and he suddenly bolted up into a sitting position. He was panting heavily and he felt sweat on his face. Quickly looking around, he saw that he was still in the living room on the couch. A hand landed on his head and pressed down on it. "Did you enjoy your _wet dream_, pretty bird?" a voice whispered in his ear.

"Huh?" Robin looked down at himself and then cringed. His face flared red as he saw the wet spot on his pants. "Dammit…"

Standing next to him, Slade patted his head. "Go get cleaned up while I bring everything inside."

Sighing, Robin nodded and then turned to place his feet on the floor. Slade walked around the couch to get to the front door. He left while Robin awkwardly made his way through the living room, into the hall, and into the bathroom of Slade's bedroom. He quickly showered, got dressed in clean clothes, and then joined Slade in the kitchen. He was currently unpacking a bunch of bags.

"You're going to forget you saw that, right?" Robin inquired.

Slade looked at him with a straight face. "Saw what?" Robin didn't know if he was joking or not. "Why don't you go exercise for a while? I want dinner to be a surprise."

"Uh, okay."

Turning back around, Robin headed out of the kitchen.

"And Robin?" Stopping within the walkway, Robin turned back to look at Slade. "I didn't see anything."

Robin blinked wide eyes when Slade winked at him. Ignoring his tail tightening around him, he walked off, heading for the front door. Shaking his head, amused, Slade went back to unloading bags. Outside, Robin started doing pull-ups with a tree branch. He was able to use both hands now. He pulled his body up as high as it could go before lowering himself back down and repeating the process. For half an hour he did this before starting to climb up the tree. He pulled up, swung his legs up and over, and leaped and bounded to reach the top. Thrusting his head up through the leaves, he heaved his body up onto the sturdiest branch he could stand on and then looked around. He could see many other trees and the bright blue sky. There were a few faint clouds lingering. The heat of the sun warmed Robin's face, the breeze blowing through his hair. He inhaled deeply to capture all the scents he could, a smile forming on his face. Everything was so beautiful and peaceful up there. Robin felt very content.

Suddenly, to his left, he heard a screech. Looking over, Robin saw a bald eagle standing on the tippy-top of another tree, looking at him. He smiled. What magnificent birds eagles were. It stared at him for a little while longer before falling and taking flight. Robin watched it fly to another tree and enter a nest. That's probably where it lived. Maybe it was a mother and there were eggs or chicks in the nest. Curious, Robin lowered himself into a crouch and quickly made his way down the tree. When he was ten feet from the bottom, he leaped off, landing on all fours in a perfect crouch. He stood up straight and looked up to see which tree he had to climb. When he found it, he rushed over and climbed quickly. When he was nearing the base of the branch with the nest, he slowed, got onto a branch on the opposite side of it, and then carefully and gently got onto the branch with the nest. He sat with his legs on either side, leaned back against the tree trunk, and watched the eagle dip its head into the nest. Robin saw it tap an egg gently with the tip of its beak.

"You're a very pretty bird," he said softly.

The eagle looked at him. "I prefer the word handsome," it said in a male voice.

"I thought the females cared for the eggs and the males hunted."

The eagle rolled one of the eggs over. "They do, but my mate was shot down by a hunter a few months ago." Robin's ears moved back. "So I've sworn to hatch the eggs and raise them by myself."

This news was really sad to Robin for some reason. "Why not find another mate?"

The eagle grabbed some leaves and placed them on the eggs. "I've tried, but I haven't seen any others around here." He looked up at Robin. "You're a strange human."

Robin scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't born like this."

"I sensed not," the eagle said. "If you had been, your human self and wolf instinct would be equal. You are more wolf than human since wolves are the dominant species. They've been around a lot longer than the humans have. Of course, the Native American Indians came after and domesticated the wolves. Then the foreigners came and destroyed them. The Indians were one with the animals, believing them to be equals. The others…well they couldn't understand such a concept. They destroyed lands and the creatures that inhabited them for their own personal gain. I have seen the cruelty man has unleashed upon us in this forest. My mate being murdered is proof of that. But you… You truly are nothing like them. You listen to those around you instead of shutting your eyes and ears away. Man cannot see or hear what is right in front of them."

"So I've been told," Robin said softly. "I met a badger that said something similar once."

"Yes, though grumpy, badgers are wise." Robin nodded in agreement before looking towards Slade's hideout. The eagle glanced in its direction. "That man is also different."

"Huh?" Robin asked, looking at him.

The eagle looked back at him. "He is a killer of man, is he not? He destroys his own kind?"

"He used to, yes," Robin answered. "But a lot of humans do that to each other. People are killed every second of every day."

"Yes, but his reasoning was honorable."

Robin snorted. "I disagree."

If eagles could do it, this one would be frowning. "You don't think saving someone like you was honorable?"

Robin blinked. "Oh, I assumed you meant his mercenary killings back in the day. I guess I can agree on that, though I would have preferred he threatened the guy to never show his face again."

"I don't think he would have had time to do just that," the eagle said. "That hunter was ready to obliterate your face with his weapon."

"I guess…"

The eagle suddenly stretched his magnificent wings and took flight. Robin jerked his head down to see him dive towards the forest floor. Twisting his body and holding the trunk with one hand, he saw the eagle swoop down, extend his talons, and grab something that tried to scamper away. Robin watched as he returned to the nest holding a frightened, squealing mouse.

"I hope you don't mind."

Robin shook his head quickly but looked away when the eagle lifted his foot to his beak and stuffed the mouse inside. There was a satisfying crunch of bones and the squealing stopped. Robin looked back at him as he smashed the mouse into a pancake and then swallowed. A disgusted look appeared on his face. The eagle breathed in, content. Shaking his head to change his mood, Robin slowly stood up, not wanting the branch to move too much.

"Will your eggs be alright?"

The eagle looked at them. "I hope so."

Robin stared at the nest for a few seconds before coming up with an idea. "Maybe I can help warm them."

The eagle looked at him, smiling. "Human hands cannot touch bird eggs. The oils in their hands would kill them."

"I'm sure we have some warm blankets in the house," Robin suggested.

"I thank you for the offer, young boy, but I will manage on my own just fine."

"Are you sure?"

The eagle nodded. "Of course."

Smiling, Robin jumped down to the next branch. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

The eagle watched him descend the tree. "I do. Thank you." It didn't take Robin long to reach the ground and then head back for the hideout. It was close to sundown now. When he was out of earshot, the eagle turned his head in the opposite direction and cooed softly. In the distance, a crow flew out of a tree and approached the nest. It landed next to the eagle and they watched Robin walk out of sight. "I fear the worst is yet to come, my friend. If we don't find a way to tighten the chains soon, the Earth will be doomed."

The crow ruffled its wing feathers. "Brother working hard. Not fail anyone. Boy very strong."

"Yes, that is what worries me."

When nothing else was said, the crow cawed and then flew away, leaving the eagle to care for his eggs.

* * *

It was dark outside. The stars twinkled overhead and the almost full moon shined down in a clearing. Crickets chirped and a few stray fireflies floated near the thicket of trees. In the middle of the clearing was the dining room table with two chairs. Two empty plates and silverware were set in place. In the center of the table was a tall, steaming pot. Next to it was a baking pan and a stick of butter on a small plate. There were also two candles on opposite sides of each other. Near the hideout, Robin was waiting for Slade to come out of the house and take him to their date. He thought it strange to be on one since it would be with Slade. Eating dinner with a mercenary didn't seem like a good idea. Especially since he swore he wasn't gay or bi.

The door opened. Turning around, Robin saw Slade exit and close it behind him. His eyes widened, not expecting to see him in a black suit and tie. Blush formed on his cheeks. Stopping in front of him, Slade chortled.

"Don't drool or anything." Robin shot him a glare at the comment. "You look like you've never seen a man in a suit before."

"No, I've never seen _you_ in a suit before. _Big_ difference. It's scary."

Slade chuckled, pulling a black cloth out of his pocket. "I'd prefer the word handsome. Now turn around. I'm going to blindfold you."

Robin scowled, not really wanting to be blind, but he turned around anyway. Slade slipped the blindfold over his eyes and gently tightened it around his head. When it was secure, he gently grabbed Robin's arm and then pulled him along. Robin tried to walk normally, but when you were in a forest with many trees with low branches and roots sticking out of the ground, it was hard to do so. But Slade steered him safely through the thicket of pines and into the clearing. Being able to see at least some form of light, Robin felt more at ease with their walk. Stopping at the first chair, Slade released his arm and pulled it out. He then set him down before going around to the opposite side and sitting in the second chair. He waited a few seconds before telling Robin he could remove the blindfold. Dropping the cloth to the ground, Robin looked at the table setting and actually smiled. Slade smiled back. Robin just couldn't believe it. Was this the perfect night or what?

"Okay, now I'm impressed."

Slade just chuckled and then grabbed the noodle spoon from the pot. "Well, dish up. I want to know how great I did."

Robin laughed, reaching for the bowl. He pulled the towel aside to reveal rolls. He grabbed one, used the butter knife to cut into it, and then lathered it with butter. After setting it on his plate, he took the spoon from Slade and pulled out a bunch of noodles covered in red tomato sauce. There were chunks of meatball, slices of mushrooms, and a sprinkle of parsley mixed with it. It smelled wonderful. When they were ready to eat, Slade pulled a black lighter from the inside pocket of his coat and lit the two candles. Robin stifled a laugh. The candles were almost _too_ much.

For the next few minutes, Slade and Robin ate silently. For each bite Robin took, his stomach welcomed the food it was consuming. Everything was just delicious. He really liked Slade's cooking. Too bad he couldn't have grown up to be a chef because he would have been great at it. Then Robin would want to learn to cook from him. But alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

"Everything going good so far?" Slade asked.

Robin finished off another bite of bread. "Good? More like fantastic! The noodles are just right and the sauce is better than Cyborg's could ever be. I have to give you props for this Slade, seriously."

Slade watched him continue eating for a few seconds before biting into his bread. He was glad Robin was being so cheerful and content. Maybe one day he'd forget about all of his hardships and never be unhappy or heart broken again. But that was a fool's dream, he knew. Robin could never forget the ups and downs of his past. He would never forget the pain he felt when he watched his parents fall to their deaths or when his friends abandoned him when he needed them most. Those were the things no one could forget, because they were such life changing events. But maybe, with time, Robin would be happy and full of life again. Slade was ever so willing to make that happen. He didn't want Robin to feel unwanted and alone. They needed each other.

Once the last noodle was slurped into his mouth, Robin leaned back and took a deep breath. He placed a hand on his slightly bulging stomach and rubbed it. Slade watched him in amusement. Opening his eyes, Robin looked up at the sky and then blinked. The stars sparkled overhead. He tried finding the more familiar constellations, but many were covered by the trees. He did see Orion's Belt and part of Taurus at least. Soon, something interesting clicked into Robin's head. Sitting up straight, he turned around, got up, and moved away from the table. Slade turned his head to watch him, wondering what he was doing. Finding a nice spot, Robin sat down, wrapped his tail around his waist, and then laid on his back with his hands behind his head. He stared up at the night sky, looking at all the many stars. Slade stared at him for a few seconds before taking his jacket off, putting it on the back of his chair, and standing.

Robin was connecting some of the dots to make shapes when Slade laid down on his left, looking up with him. He had loosened his tie and rolled the sleeves of his white, button-down shirt up on the way over. For a few minutes they stared silently up at the sky, just enjoying each others' company. Everything just felt calm and right. The crickets sang around them and, every once in a while, a bat would screech in the distance.

"You know, I've never actually done this before."

Slade turned his head to look at him. "Really?"

Robin tilted his head forward in a nod. "Sunrises and sunsets were me and Starfire's thing. I never would have thought to connect the stars to make things with her. It's…different. And relaxing." Taking one hand out from under his head, Robin connected several stars together. "That one looks like a puppy." He showed Slade another. "That looks like a leaf. And that looks like a ball. I bet if I tried hard enough, I could see a motorcycle."

Robin lowered his hand to his chest and continued to look around, smiling like a fat kid with cake. His tail lay beside him on his right and his ears quivered with each sound he heard. After a few more seconds, Slade looked up at the sky again and tried creating something with the stars. They did this together for a little while. Robin had created a lot of stuff in just a few minutes. He was having a lot of fun coming up with random things. After a few more minutes, Slade looked at him again.

"Maybe we can make stargazing our thing."

Robin's mind suddenly lost what he had seen next from Slade's voice. He looked at him strangely. "What do you mean _our_ thing?"

Slade moved onto his side and then pushed himself up onto one hand. "Every night, you and I can come here and look at the stars together. That's what you and Starfire used to do, isn't it? Just with the sun?"

Robin blinked several times at him, thinking something was really off about his suggestion. But who could blame him. Slade hadn't acted like himself for a while now. Robin was having trouble adjusting to this new version. The Slade he knew would do things only for himself and for a purpose. Stargazing did _not_ fall into that category. His idea of fun was building robots, coming up with Take Over the World plans, and killing people. Since when did stargazing and tree climbing become a part of him?

Looking back up at the sky, Robin said, "You're being really weird."

Slade's eyes narrowed slightly. Robin blinked in surprise when he rolled over his body to straddle him and stare down at him. "No, you are. Almost every word that has come out of my mouth has resulted in a bizarre reaction from you. It's as if you don't like what I'm doing with you. What's so wrong about wanting to spend time with you? I'm trying to be good for you, but you either laugh at me or say I'm weird for doing it. You may not think it does, but it actually hurts my feelings." Robin's eyes widened slightly at that. "I know I was a terrible person who took you from your friends and pitted you against them, but that was a long time ago and I'm sorry for it. I've changed, Robin, almost as much as you have. But for some reason you don't seem to believe me, even after I've showed you. Your change is just as visible as mine is, but you seem blind to it. I want to climb trees and stargaze with you. I _want_ to be there for you when you're happy or upset. If you don't want any of that from me, then say it, but don't toy with me anymore."

Robin almost couldn't believe his ears. Slade was revealing so many emotions at once, when in the past he kept them hidden. There was so much more to him than Robin realized. And now he felt terrible for not considering how he felt about everything. He had only been thinking about himself, becoming a terrible self-absorbed brat. Why did this have to happen?

Robin lowered his gaze, his eyes narrowing in shame. "I'm sorry."

Slade stared at him for a few seconds longer before letting out a small sigh. "Don't apologize. I understand things are going by quickly. You're not used to this person in front of you. But you need to think before giving me weird looks. That's all I ask."

Robin felt absolutely terrible. He kept fucking things up. Was he ever going to do anything right? It didn't take him long for his face to soften. There was something he _could _do, actually.

Slade's eyes widened slightly when he grabbed the middle of his tie and yanked him down. Robin kissed him hard, hoping that would be enough of a non-verbal apology. Apparently it was because Slade closed his eyes and kissed back. He lifted one hand, placing it on the side of Robin's neck. They kissed passionately for a good few minutes.

"I-I'll get used to y-you eventually," Robin breathed when they paused. "I-I promise. Just g-give me more time."

"I will."

Robin pressed their lips together again and they continued to kiss.

**To Be Continued…**


	13. Mother Nature Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Decided to post a day early because yesterday I felt like total shit due to womanly things and wanted to update then, but then you would've had to wait 2 extra days for next week's upload, so I saved it for today. This chapter is fun, but also humorous ;)

**SladinForever**

* * *

Before bed, Slade and Robin had brought the dining room table back inside and put food away and washed dishes. They hadn't talked much since their tense talk. Robin still felt kind of bad for the way he acted towards him and was unsure of how to talk to him. After a good night's sleep, he was sure he'd have more to say to Slade. He really was sorry for making him feel bad.

Lying in bed the next morning, Robin was still mostly asleep when Slade got in beside him. He lay halfway on top of his body, wrapping his arm around him. Robin stayed asleep, although his body was vaguely aware of the added body heat, but he was too comfortable to wake up yet. With his face near his neck, Slade lightly blew on his collarbone, teasing him. Robin lifted his hand to brush the feeling off, but all he managed to do was drop it, barely touching Slade's face with the tips of his fingers. He turned his head in his direction, breathing out hard but quiet through his nose. The air traveled through Slade's bangs, tickling Robin's nose and part of his cheek. He still didn't awaken, but he was getting there. Slade stared at his peaceful face for a moment longer before carefully moving his body over him. He held himself up with his hands to keep most of his weight off his smaller frame. With his knees on either side of him, he moved his hips forward and then back, rubbing against his crotch. He stopped to see if Robin reacted, but he was still blissfully unaware. That would soon change, Slade thought with a smirk.

Slade grinded slowly against Robin, seeing one ear twitch out of the top of his eye. He did this for almost a full minute before his eyes fluttered open blearily. He felt something rubbing against him, but couldn't really tell what it was. Closing his eyes tight, he tilted his head back, stretching. Still rubbing against him, Slade lowered his head and licked up his neck. He trailed his tongue over his chin and, as his head lowered, kissed him on the lips. Robin kissed back, his ears twitching and his tail patting the bed as it moved up and down. Now that he was more awake, he registered what was bumping his crotch and hips.

Moving his head to the left, Robin asked, "_What_ are you _doing_?"

Slade kissed just below his ear, making him flinch. "Dry humping you."

Placing his hands on his shoulders, Robin pushed him back, giving him a quizzical look. "Dry what?"

Slade chuckled. "Dry humping is sex without penetration," he explained. "Since you won't let me go that far, this is the next best thing. It isn't as great as actual sex, but it'll be enough. For now."

Robin snorted. "It's annoying, to be honest. Weird even." He quickly remembered last night. "Um, I mean, the feeling is weird, not the fact you're doing it. It's kind of odd, but- Wait, that's not what I mean either! What I'm trying to say is…"

Robin continued to stumble on his words, but Slade just chuckled. "By all means, keep going, but you're looking silly right now." Robin's mouth was wide open as he stopped. He quickly closed it. Chuckling again, Slade ran his hand down his bare chest and then tweaked a nipple. Three things happened at the same time: Robin's ears quivered violently, his tail jerked, and he meeped. Slade chuckled at the high-pitched sound. "Did you like that?"

"W-Well…"

Ending his dry humping, Slade moved down, lowered his head to his chest, and sucked the nipple into his mouth. Robin's body jerked at the foreign feeling. Slade sucked on it for three seconds before licking it. Closing his eyes, Robin groaned softly, electricity flowing through his chest. Slade rolled his tongue around the perking nub swiftly, getting a weak moan from him this time. Robin lifted his hands to his head and felt his hair through his fingers. He couldn't help but run them through it, it was so soft. Slade licked up his chest, kissed his neck when he reached it, and then laid beside him, wrapping his arm around him. Resting his head under his chin, he closed his eyes and exhaled. Robin smiled softly down at him, running his fingers through his hair.

"What are we doing today?"

Pushing his arm underneath him, Slade wrapped his arms around his middle. "I don't care. You decide," he said quietly.

"Well then I don't know either." The room became silent for a while. Robin continued to move his fingers through Slade's hair as he stared across the room. Just lying there wasn't a bad idea. It was very relaxing. Robin felt Slade's chest moving against his own as he breathed. He suddenly smiled big. "Wolfy loves cuddles."

The corner of Slade's mouth went up in a half smile. Resting his head down, Robin closed his eyes and inhaled. They laid there for god knows how long before his stomach growled. His eyes snapped open as Slade tried not to burst out laughing.

"Does my little wolf want breakfast?"

Ignoring his stomach, Robin wrapped his arms around him and held him, almost possessively. "No, I want to keep cuddling. Mine." Slade chuckled at his word choice. "Yes, right now, you are mine, not my stomach. And you will stay right. Here." Robin's stomach growled again, longer and louder this time. He sighed in annoyance. "This is so not fair."

Slade was still for a little while longer before coming up with an idea. Wrapping his arms tighter around him, he quickly sat up. Robin gripped him tight at the sudden move. Turning around while still holding him, Slade stood up and headed for the door. Robin hmphed at him, but rested in his arms anyway. Slade walked down the hall, entered the kitchen, and then sat him down on the counter. He then moved towards the refrigerator.

"What sounds good to you?"

Robin gripped the edge of the counter as he stared at him. He thought long and hard while Slade rummaged through the fridge. He suddenly perked up and jumped down. "Deer."

Slade straightened and then started to turn. "Pardon?"

When Slade turned around, Robin was gone. His eyes widened slightly. Where did he go? He heard the front door open and then close. Now what did he want to be outside for? Closing the refrigerator door, Slade headed out of the house in search of him. Outside, deep in the forest, Robin was sniffing some deer tracks, trying to locate the maker. He had run all the way there, leaving Slade far behind. Lifting his face to the sky, he sniffed the air and found the deer's location. He bounded further into the forest, going to the right. It didn't take him long to find the lone deer, which was actually a buck. But it was still young and only had a small rack of antlers. Slowing down, Robin crouched as low as he could and examined the buck for a while. It was just grazing, eating grass and sniffing the forest floor. It moved a few paces forward. Being as silent as possible, Robin made his way for it. When he was just a few yards away, he bolted up and forward, claws and fangs at the ready. Hearing him, the buck turned its head and swung his antlers at him. Robin was thrown to the right. He crashed and rolled on the ground before stopping on his upper back, his legs high in the air. After falling down, he lifted himself up and shook his head. He then looked up and gasped. The buck lowered his head as it charged and struck out at him with a sharp tine.

Back at the hideout, Slade was at the forest opening, calling for Robin's name. There was no answer, so he was either ignoring him or long gone while probably hunting for a deer or rabbit. So there Slade was, waiting for his return. For several minutes he listened and waited and then, not long after, felt as if something wasn't right. Robin couldn't possibly take this long to come back. Slade had seen him run and he was fast when on all fours. Bringing something back wouldn't be too much trouble either. Something was definitely wrong. Getting worried, which hardly ever occurred with him, Slade ran towards the trees in search of him.

Using his tracking skills and instincts, Slade searched for any footprints embedded into the grassy ground and any disturbances caused by a human. He didn't find any, but there were some animal tracks. Suddenly, something changed. Slade slid sideways to a stop, blades of grass coming up around his feet. Something was racing towards him, and it was big. Bigger than Robin. He quickly got out-of-the-way when a young buck ran right in his path. Catching something on its antlers, Slade instantly became alert. Suddenly, a bird screeched overhead. Jerking his head up, Slade saw an eagle. It was flying in the direction the deer had come from. He wasn't really sure why, but something made him follow it. Call it intuition. By some chance, maybe the bird _was_ leading him to Robin. Slade really hoped he was right. The eagle swooped into a tree a few minutes later, Slade not far below it. When he ran around a large oak, he saw something long lying on the ground. The closer he got, the clearer he saw that it was Robin. His back was to him and he was unmoving. That couldn't be good. If he was right…

Slade slowed and inched his way closer to Robin. His tail lay limp and his ears were down. Slade walked around him and then crouched in front of him. His arms were in front of his face and his eyes were closed. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. Stepping one foot closer, Slade reached out, grabbed his arm gently, and slowly pushed him back. So much for nothing wrong with him. There was a puncture wound at about the center of where his ribs were and it was bleeding. There was a small puddle of blood seeping into the ground. When Slade lightly touched the bloodied area, Robin's eyes snapped open in a panic. With fight or flight taking over, he couldn't stop himself from lifting his right leg and kicking Slade in the chest. He slid backwards a few inches. Quickly realizing who it was, Robin immediately began to apologize frantically, despite the hole in his chest.

"Oh Slade, I'm so sorry! I thought you were the deer, coming back to finish me off!" Slade slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't break anything, did I? I'm so sorry-!"

Slade looked at him in disbelief. "You're worrying about me when you have a hole in your chest?"

Robin blinked in confusion. "Huh?" He looked down and saw blood trailing down his chest and stomach. He turned very pale. "It…It impaled me! What the fuck!" Slamming his hand to the wound, Robin dramatically fell over and growled. "Oh god it hurts! Oh Slade, please, do something! I'm dying! I see the light at the end of the tunnel!"

Slade stared at him with a raised eyebrow and looking strangely at him. "Stop being over dramatic."

Robin rolled on the ground. "I'm not being overly dramatic! I keep getting closer to the light! Do something; quick!" Slade stared at him a few seconds longer before standing up, walking to his side, and then crouching before him. Robin whimpered, his eyes clenched tightly shut. Producing a lot of saliva, Slade lowered his head close to the puncture and then spat on it. Robin's eyes snapped open again. "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWW!" Robin quickly sat up and tried wiping the spit off of him. "That was gross! Why'd you do that?!"

"You asked me to do something fast to help you, so I did," Slade said.

Robin quickly wiped his slobbered hand on the grass. "How is spitting on me helping me? It's not going to do anything!"

Slade stood up. "Robin, infused in my DNA is the ability to heal faster than a normal human being. How do you think I make my special healing ointment?"

Robin looked at him in disgust and disbelief. "You've been putting _saliva_ on me? That's unsanitary!"

Slade snorted down at him. "That's only a small part of the formula. It's mixed with other natural ingredients. You never would have cared if I never told you what was actually in it."

"Well, it's too late now," Robin said agitatedly, attempting to stand. "I'll never use it again." Feeling unbalanced suddenly, Robin started to fall backwards. Slade grabbed his arm and pulled him to his body. Robin rested against him, feeling dizzy and tired. "Can we go home now?"

Slade stared down at the top of his head, wondering if Robin heard himself say what he said. He never thought he'd hear those words come out of his mouth. Robin's home wasn't here, it was in Jump City. But he could never go home. Not like this. Placing his hand on the top of his head, Slade ran it between his ears.

"Yes, we can."

Lifting his unfocused gaze, Robin stared up at Slade's face, looking a little drunk. "With more wolf cuddles?"

A tiny smile tugged at Slade's mouth. He softly chuckled. "Yes, with wolf cuddles."

Smiling big one last time, Robin lowered his head back to his chest and passed out. Closing his eyes and snorting softly, Slade picked him up like a small child, with one arm under his rear, and headed back home. Up above in the tree, the bald eagle father watched them leave. After a few seconds, he lifted his beak to the sky and felt the world shift. Trouble was coming, and there would be nothing to stop it.

"Remus, you must hurry. We are running out of time."

With a cry, the eagle flew back for his nest, where his small bundles of joy would be born and waiting.

* * *

When Robin woke up in a groggy state, he was in the infirmary. White bandaging was wrapped around his chest. Sitting in a chair by his bedside, Slade was reading a book, holding it up in his right hand. His left was holding his head, his pointer and middle finger pressed to the side of his face as he leaned on it. His elbow rested on the arm rest of the chair. Turning his head, Robin saw him.

"What're you reading?"

Pausing, Slade turned his eye on him before lowering the book and looking fully at him. "Fight tactics. There are some good exercises in this one." Standing up, Slade put the book on the side table and then stepped to the side of the bed. "How's your chest?"

Looking down, Robin gently placed a hand on the puncture. "It hurts a little."

"I can imagine… I had to put on more spit."

Robin's eyes narrowed in disgust. "You're not funny."

"That's what you're going to call it, so, in a way, I'm being serious," Slade said with a smirk. Robin lowered his hand and leaned back all the way. "You'll have to sleep in here for a few days."

Robin pouted. "I hate staying in hospital rooms."

"You will heal faster in a sterile environment. I'm not going to waste resources on my room to make it so."

Robin sighed. "I get it. The question is now, what do I _do_ all day?"

"Good question," Slade said. "I have a lot of books for you to read. How do you feel about books on war?" Robin shrugged. "I'll fill a box of books for you to look through."

"Okay. Can I use your laptop?"

Slade quirked an eyebrow. "To do what?"

Robin scratched the back of his ear. "It's been a really long time since I checked my e-mails. I also think I should message Batman. He hasn't heard from me in a long time. He doesn't even know about my transformation. He'd want to give Poison Ivy a piece of his mind." Slade stared at him for a few seconds before turning sideways and rubbing the back of his head. Robin's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Slade glanced at him. "Were you planning on telling him about me during your explanation?"

Robin blinked. "He'd ask questions if I said some random stranger helped me. Why? Would it be bad if I did?"

Sighing, Slade grabbed the chair and turned it around to face Robin as he sat down. "Batman and I don't see…eye-to-eye."

Robin smiled. "I could've told you that."

Lifting his hand, Slade placed it on Robin's knee and moved it up and down along his leg. "If you told him and he got angry, he would find a way to trace where you sent the message back to me and probably come down to give _me_ a piece of his mind."

Robin laughed. "Yeah, that could be a problem." Pain shot through Robin's chest. Leaning forward, he clutched at it and growled. "Shit…" The pain slowly subsided. Robin laid back down again. "Don't make me laugh…" he said through gritted teeth.

"You started it."

Robin tried not to laugh but it slipped out faintly. "D-Did not…"

Slade patted his leg. "I think you should hold off telling Batman for now. I want to up my security first."

Robin thought that would be fair. "I can wait a few days."

Standing up, Slade leaned over and kissed him. "Good." Slade stood up straight, turned around, and headed for the door. Robin slid further down the bed and pulled the blanket up to his chin. "I'll bring you some soup I made while you were passed out."

"Okay…"

The door closed behind Slade. Robin stared at it for a few more seconds before turning his head to the left and closing his eyes to rest. It wasn't long before Slade returned with a hot bowl of soup. He set it on the small bedside table and then turned it around so that the tray hovered over him. Robin slowly sat up, picked up the bowl, and started to scarf down his food. Slade grabbed his book and sat back down to read more. When Robin was full, he set the bowl down and then licked his lips to get whatever was left. He then looked at Slade, his head tilted slightly. Feeling the stare, Slade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

"I'm not sure," Robin said. "There's just something so different about you."

Slade looked at him fully. "How so?" Robin shrugged. "…Do you like it?"

Robin stared at him in silence for a long time. How could he answer something he couldn't understand? "I really don't know."

Slade stared at him for a moment before setting his book down and standing up. Robin lifted his gaze as he stepped to the edge of the bed and moved his head closer.

"When you figure it out, let me know," he spoke softly in his ear. After kissing his temple quickly, Slade turned around and headed for the door again. "I'll go gather those books for you."

Robin watched Slade's retreating back in silence, wondering what this feeling was inside of him. What was this difference he saw in his ex-nemesis that he hadn't before? Why did everything have to continue being so confusing? Sighing, Robin laid back down, placed his arm across his forehead, and stared up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes.

"Who is Slade _now_?"

**To Be Continued…**


	14. Mother Nature Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Updating a day early because I love you guys and this chapter is awesome and you'll love me so much more after this! Anyway, I hope you liked what I did with the last sentence in chapter 13. It was always the biggest question of Teen Titans and now I gave it a twist. And just like the original question, there's still no answer for it, but Robin's determined to find one. Will he succeed? Read on!

**SladinForever**

* * *

After four days of lying in bed and reading fifty or so books from Slade's collection, Robin was back to learning self control. He would meditate half an hour before performing a few simple exercises and then battling robots. At the moment, he was up against twenty robots, dodging mostly to upgrade his agility. He paid extra attention to how a robot moved. He observed their feet the most. Sometimes it was easy to tell where they would go. A slight turn of its toe to the left meant they'd go left and so forth. Deciding if they would go back a few steps was harder, but that hardly mattered. Robin would leap and kick the moment that happened.

A robot dodged to the left when Robin tried to kick it. It got behind him and grabbed his shoulder. Grabbing it with both hands, Robin easily flipped it over his body and then spun it around. Stopping, he threw it at another robot that came towards him. They both crashed down on top of each other. The one underneath shoved the other off and tried to get back up. Seeing this, Robin thought of something. Three more robots approached him.

"Time-out!" As if on command, the robots stopped their advance. Robin put up a finger to signal for one minute as he reached into his belt pocket and grabbed the black communicator Slade gave him. Pushing the power button, Robin touched the screen and a menu appeared. He pressed a phone symbol and then heard a beep. "Slade."

Registering his voice command, the communicator turned black for three seconds before Slade's face appeared. _"__Yes, Robin, what do you need?"_

"Yeah, uh, did you ever program your robots to work together?"

_"…No."_

"Why not?"

_"Does it matter?"_

Robin lightly glared at him. "Well yeah. You wouldn't waste so many robots if they just helped each other out every now and again. Instead of helping its partner after I threw one robot at another, it shoved it away and left it on the floor. They both can still fight, but not when one won't help the other up. It's just…pathetic really. It would make fighting them that much harder too."

Slade was silent for a moment. _"…__I would think you'd want it to be slightly easy."_

"Back when I was with the Titans, yeah, but not now. Besides, how else am I going to get better if you make things easy for me?"

_"Alright, I see what you mean,"_ Slade said. _"__I will change the components of their basic chips and then reprogram them later. For now, you'll have to do with what you have. And I'm sorry I made them too easy for you."_

Robin blinked at the apology. "Um…thanks?"

_"Of course."_

Robin was about to hang up when he thought of something else. "Hey, no hurry on the robots, okay? You should finish upping your security first."

_"If you insist."_

"Okay. I'll be inside by dinner time."

_"I will see you then."_

Robin hung up first and then dropped both his head and arm, sighing. Why did he have to snap at him like that? Now Robin felt bad. Pocketing the communicator, he looked at his still motionless robots.

"Storage. Now." While the robots went away, Robin walked towards the training room door. He needed some fresh air to cool his head. Outside, he went to a tree and jumped to grab the nearest high branch. "Let's see how many pull-ups I can do in three hours."

Gripping the thick branch tight, Robin began his pull-ups. On his computer in his room, Slade was updating his security measures. He made it so it was near impossible to hack and control, but more importantly, impossible to detect. The signal would bounce off millions of servers across the world, so it would take forever to pinpoint. Even if someone was able to find it, it wouldn't show their exact location. Slade didn't think Bruce would try too hard to find Robin after he told him what had happened to him and that he was fine, but it was better safe than sorry. Bruce preferred to act first and ask questions later, so it would be impossible to tell him that Slade had been good to Robin.

"You always were too stupid to plan ahead, Bruce," he muttered to himself. When a thought came to him, a small smirk quickly played across his face. "Well, not with everything."

If there was one smart thing Bruce Wayne had done right, it was take Robin under his wing. If he hadn't, then there wouldn't be a Robin. After another half hour, Slade was done. He ran a test for another thirty minutes, ending with success. The computer had given up its search by then. The Batcave computer was slightly stronger than Slade's, but he wagered it wouldn't be able to finish the trace after forty-some minutes. It was strong, but not strong enough.

Slade opened another program on his computer. It was a camera monitoring program, so he could check up on Robin with footage. When he didn't see him in the dojo, he had a camera search the outside. It only took ten minutes to find him still doing his tree pull-ups. Getting a slightly closer look at him, Slade saw sweat all over his face and arms. He wondered how long he had been going. He was very good at it, finishing eight pull-ups in just three seconds. Robin seemed to get stronger and faster each day, much to Slade's delight. Robin never ceased to amaze him. Slade was quite proud to have him around.

After a few more minutes of watching, Slade turned the footage off and then left the room. He went to the equipment storage in the dojo, grabbed the main fighting disk for the robots, and then brought it back inside so that he could modify it. By the end of Robin's three hours, he had performed four hundred and sixty-six pull-ups. He dropped down, falling to his butt instantly. He rested his aching arms in between his legs, panting. For a few minutes he regained his strength. Getting back up, he stretched for five minutes and then started climbing a tree. He timed how fast it took him to reach the top—about two minutes. He sat on the highest branch that could support his weight for a while, thinking about what to put in his letter to Bruce. He wanted to tell him enough without telling him too much. He didn't want Slade's name mentioned at all. Either he had to make some dude's name up or not provide one at all. He guessed he would go with the latter.

Out of nowhere, Robin's stomach growled. Groaning, he stood up and started to make his way down. Inside, Slade was throwing dinner together in the oven. They would be having Stouffer's lasagna with garlic bread and salad. A few minutes after setting the timer, the front door opened and Robin walked in. He stretched and yawned as he made his way to the kitchen. Slade sat back at the table to work on his chip. Going to the refrigerator, Robin pulled out a bottle of water and guzzled it down without pause. When it was empty, he lowered the bottle from his lips and let out a refreshed sigh. His stomach growled again, so he grabbed a slice of cheese from the door. Hearing the wrapper being opened, Slade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Dinner's in the oven."

Robin closed the door and then turned to him. "I need something to tide me over. What are we having?"

"Lasagna."

Robin nodded while nibbling on the corner of his cheese. He threw his wrapper away before sitting down and watching Slade work. Sitting in front of him was a machine that was as thin as a laptop, but light enough to hold with one hand. The robot chip was sticking two inches from the side, like a card reader for cameras and such. Slade was typing away at the keys. Robin finished his cheese before asking a question.

"Did you finish your security upgrade?"

Slade touched the screen that was filled with equations that only geniuses would be able to decipher. "I did. You can send Batman a message now."

"Can I do that while waiting for dinner?"

"You may."

Robin stood up, pushing his chair in. "Thanks."

Slade just gave a nod. Turning around, Robin entered the hallway and went to Slade's room. He sat down at his computer, lifted the lid, and opened the E-mail application. He typed in the Batcave e-mail address in the To box, then typed "Greetings from Robin; Here's an Update" in the Subject header. Clicking on the message box, he started typing his explanation e-mail. It took ten minutes to get his words right. He decided to leave Slade as anonymous. After re-reading it twice, he moved the mouse to the Send button and paused. What if Slade's new security measures weren't good enough? He would get into serious trouble if Bruce _did_ track him down. Robin was now having second thoughts.

"Go ahead and click it." Jumping, Robin looked over his shoulder and saw Slade behind him. "I ran a test and my tracker failed to locate us. Its safe, I promise."

Robin stared at him with an unsure look for a moment before looking down at the mouse and clicking the left button. The e-mail was sent and the application closed.

"I hope you're right…"

Robin slumped in the chair, feeling weary. Standing directly behind the chair, Slade placed his strong hands on his shoulders and started massaging them. He used his thumbs to dig into the base of his neck, moving them in opposite directions. Robin closed his eyes in relaxation, feeling slightly better. By the time he was in a shower before bed that night, he would be fully content. He needed a good night's sleep.

"Is this helping?"

"Mh…yeah."

Slade pulled up on Robin's shoulders to sit him up, so that he could reach lower. He used just his thumbs to push around his spine, loosening up the tense muscles from his many pull-ups. Placing his arms on the desk in front of him, Robin leaned forward and rested his head on them. Slade then started using his knuckles to knead his back. Sometimes places would pop, rather loudly at that, but Robin didn't mind. He was feeling much better because of it.

Stepping around to Robin's side, Slade crouched down and worked on his lower back with the ball of his hand. His fingers pulled on the other side, pulling the two halves of his spine together. Robin glanced at him over his arm, blinking every few seconds. He took notice of how good Slade was with his hands. One minute they would be causing pain, then the next they would make it all go away. It truly amazed him.

"Are you daydreaming about me naked?" Robin came out of his thoughts, his smile vanishing. He blushed, making Slade smirk. "Guess I was right."

Robin snorted at him before turning his head the opposite way. "I was not. It just amazes me how your hands could cause someone pain one second, but then ease it away the next."

"You forgot causing someone to become rock hard too." Robin quickly forced his ears down. Slade chuckled. "It was a joke."

"I don't care."

Slade finished massaging his back a minute later. Standing up, he left the room to check the timer on the oven. Robin lifted his head, stretched and yawned before getting up, closing the laptop, and going after him. There was just eight more minutes left on the clock. After putting the garlic bread in the oven, Slade started washing the salad with cold water. Robin got two plates and two salad bowls down and set the table. He then filled two glasses with cold water. Once the buzzer went off and the lasagna and bread were removed, Slade turned the oven off and put both on the table. He grabbed forks and napkins before sitting down with Robin at the table. They dished up in silence.

"So, I saw you doing those pull-ups. How many did you do?" Slade asked before taking a bite of bread.

Robin swallowed some lettuce and shredded carrot sticks. "A little over four hundred and fifty in three hours."

"That's impressive."

"Thanks. Batman wouldn't think so though."

Slade accidentally swallowed too much, but he amazingly didn't choke. "He just doesn't know your true worth. I, on the other hand, do. He just doesn't take you as seriously as he should."

Robin stared blankly at him for a second in silence. "I guess not."

Robin didn't want to believe that it was true, but some part of him knew it was. When he first stumbled upon the Batcave and asked Bruce to let him be his sidekick, he had refused. Only when Robin showed him what he could do did he give him a chance. Even then, Bruce babied him and didn't let him get too close to danger. Maybe if he had given Robin more of a chance at getting faster and stronger, he wouldn't have suffered the bullet that almost took his life. Bruce had become even more protective after that fiasco, even going as far as revoking his hero title. That's when Robin had had enough and left Gotham to work for himself.

"He taught you as much as he knew." Robin looked up, coming out of his thoughts at Slade's voice. "So you can't really blame him for that."

Robin stared solemnly at him for a few more seconds before continuing to eat in silence. Slade went back to eating as well. Dinner was finished in silence. Fifteen minutes later, Robin drank the rest of his water before standing up and pushing his chair in.

"I'm going to shower before bed."

Slade got up and started cleaning the table and kitchen. "I'll do the dishes then."

Nodding, Robin turned around and left. He returned to Slade's room, grabbed clean clothes from his dresser drawer, and then entered the bathroom. He peed before turning the shower on. Setting the clothes on the sink counter and a towel on the closed toilet, Robin carefully undressed and then stepped into the steaming shower. For twenty minutes, he washed his hair, tail, and ears thoroughly, scrubbed his body with soap, and then rinsed off. He had to tug hard on his tail to get all the suds out of it. It was a pain in his ass to do it too. When he was finally done, Robin adjusted the shower head before sitting down with his back to the hard stream. His tail lay limp behind him, half of it facing the right. He closed his eyes to meditate while relaxing under the heat. Soon, all sound was muted on his ears and he felt as light as a feather. Tonight would be a good night for sleeping. He was so far into his relaxed state that he didn't hear the bathroom door open and then close. Slade's shadow fell upon the glass door. It showed him undressing quietly. Robin's ears twitched, but he ignored them. All he wanted to do was relax and think of nothing else.

The glass door silently slid open and Slade stepped inside the shower. Suddenly feeling a new presence in the room, Robin's eyes opened and he jerked back in surprise. Slade laughed at him for this. Robin growled angrily at him.

"That wasn't funny!" Slade's laugh turned into a light chuckle. "And what are you doing? Can't a guy bathe in peace?!"

"I can't join you? I'm hurt," Slade mocked.

"That's right, you can't! Now get your naked ass out of here!"

Slade stepped one foot closer. "That's no way to treat the man that saved you." Crouching in front of him, Slade smirked. "Instead, you should be _thanking_ me."

Robin tried to move back, but Slade grabbed his hips and pressed them down. Robin stared wide eyed at him as he laid on his stomach in between his legs. Lowering his head, Slade licked the side of his limp penis, making him shudder. He then moved it to the right to try and lift it in the air. Robin's ears twitched violently and his tail tried to wag, but it was too soaked to move much. Putting part of his lips around his penis, Slade licked and moved it along to reach the head. He licked it up and into his mouth. The tip of his tongue slipped barely two centimeters inside the slit. Robin felt electric-like shocks course through his penis and into his stomach. Leaning back against the wall, he bit his lower lip to prevent a moan as the tongue slipped a little further inside. The foreskin started to part and peel back.

"S-Slade…"

As Slade slipped his mouth over the hardening organ, his lips pushed the foreskin back more until it was fully peeled back. Soon, just a few inches of flesh was left and Slade started sucking and licking. Closing his eyes and biting his lower lip harder, Robin stifled a moan in the back of his throat. He slowly lifted his knees and planted his feet firmly on the bath tub floor. The stream from the shower head pelted on Slade's broad back and shoulders and trailed and trickled down his sides and lower back. He didn't seem to care about the water hitting his face as it bounced off Robin's left knee.

Opening one eye a little, Robin started to pant hot air. Slade's mouth was so hot and wet that it sent jolts through his crotch and stomach. Tilting his head back, he bit back a loud moan. His hands fidgeted as he dug his fingers into the floor. Slade sucked his shaft harder and bobbed his head up and down a bit as he used his oral sex skills to make Robin feel good.

"A-Ah…"

Robin continued to pant and moan the closer he was to his orgasm. Unable to keep his hands down anymore, he placed one on his chest and the other on his stomach. He slowly ran them over his hot, wet skin, making him even hotter. Soon his penis was all the way in Slade's mouth and he sucked harder and more fervent. His hands rested on Robin's sides and he used his thumbs to massage his navel. Robin suddenly bucked his hips when the tip touched the back of Slade's throat. Luckily he didn't gag as he almost swallowed it. It made Robin cry out and suddenly cum unexpectedly. Slade's eyes clenched tightly as he froze to allow it to slide down his throat. When Robin relaxed himself, he slowly pulled back, saliva and cum falling down the sides and landing on his balls.

Instead of getting on his knees, Slade let his limp shaft go and then trailed a wet, sticky tongue up along the base of his stomach. His forehead bumped into Robin's hand, so he quickly jerked it back. He shuddered as Slade licked his navel, practically fucking his belly button with the tip of his tongue. He used his feet to move further up Robin's body. The teen moved his hands to his shoulders and then moved them down his slick back as he attempted to get halfway on top of him. Reaching his chest, Slade sucked one of his nipples into his mouth and licked it fervently. It hardened and perked up more. Robin was still panting as he watched him work. He was feeling a bit more relaxed now. He slowly lowered his legs back down and placed his feet on the small of his back.

Slade was now sucking and licking Robin's left collarbone as he moved for his neck. Robin dug his fingers into his muscled back and scratched up before wrapping his arms around his neck. He closed his eyes and moaned when Slade trailed his hot tongue up the side of his neck. He tilted his head back so that he could attack the front with passionate kisses. Robin's throat vibrated when he moaned weakly. With his hands, Slade gently touched his warm body, sometimes massaging certain areas, like his thighs and lower stomach. If anything, it relaxed him further.

Finally reaching up to Robin's ear, Slade whispered, "I can't wait for you much longer, pretty bird. I know you will be able to handle me." Robin's ear twitched. "I know you can do it, Robin. I believe in you."

Robin was still for a moment before he lifted his right hand and pushed his fingers through his hair. His eyes narrowed as he thought about the next step. Why was he so against going all the way anyway?

"I'm scared…"

"I would think there was something wrong with you if you weren't," Slade said gently. Robin pressed the side of his head against his own. He ran his fingers through his hair as he kept his arms wrapped around his neck. "I would never purposefully hurt you, Robin. You're all I have."

Tears formed in Robin's eyes. Slade must have been lonely for a really long time. He couldn't imagine how painful that would be. He thought Slade would prefer the life of solitude, but now he wasn't so sure. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply and then released a breath.

"Do you really think I'm ready?"

Slade smiled softly. "I do."

Robin sighed. "…Okay."

* * *

When they were out of the shower ten minutes later, Robin was on his back in Slade's bed, waiting for him to return from the bathroom. His tail was mostly dry now. He scratched the back of his left ear and then shook his head when the biting itch was gone. Slade soon emerged with something in his hand. Going to the side of the bed, he got on it with his knees and moved closer to Robin. He straddled his legs and showed him what he had.

"This will make everything easier on you." He started unscrewing the cap. "It will be cold for a few seconds. Hold that." Robin took the offered lid and held it against his chest. Parting his legs, Slade moved in between them, dipped his pointer finger into the tub, and pulled out a gel-like, foggy white substance. Setting the tub aside, he pushed Robin's left leg back to expose his ass crack. He parted one cheek and then gently placed the fingertip to the puckered hole. Robin jerked back in surprise. The gel really was cold. Slade slowly tried getting his finger inside. Robin whimpered as it went in to the first knuckle. He tensed and practically swallowed the whole finger. He growled in pain. "Well don't do that."

Robin growled lightly at him. "I couldn't h-help it!" Slade slowly wiggled the finger inside, coating his tight inner walls. Robin whimpered again. He could feel Slade's heart beat right from his finger. "T-Take it out…!"

With his free hand, Slade gently rubbed his thigh. "Just calm down and relax. It will only hurt worse if you don't."

Robin gave him a pleading look. "I…I don't th-think we should do th-this…"

Slade moved his hand to his stomach and rubbed it. "Robin, lightly close your eyes and picture something that makes you really happy. Meditation will help you relax. Now, close your eyes."

Staring uncertainly at him, Robin swallowed and then nodded. He slowly closed his eyes and thought of something peaceful. It didn't take him long to hear the sound of waves crashing into something. He tried to pinpoint the exact location, but a warm light touched his face. Opening his eyes, he mentally saw the sunset on Titans Tower. He sat with Starfire, who had her arm looped with his. The beautiful orange glow from the setting sun was brilliant and serene. Back on the bed, Robin looked calm and relaxed. He breathed steadily through his nose, hardly feeling Slade insert a second, lube-covered finger and then spread both apart to open him up.

"I'm almost ready. Are you still thinking of that happy thought?"

"Mmm, yeah…"

Slade smirked. "Good boy." He slowly removed his fingers, grabbed his ass cheeks, and spread them apart. Some of the lubrication was on the outer ring. Moving further between his legs, Slade positioned his slightly erect penis and pressed the blunt head to the hole. Robin's eyes snapped open in shock when he felt something thick and veiny forcing its way inside his rectum. "How are you holding up?"

Robin slowly looked at him and swallowed. "O-Okay…I guess." Nodding, Slade looked at his stomach and forced more of his length into him. When he was halfway to the hilt, he stopped, pulled back an inch and gently thrust forward. Robin gasped. "W-Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Y-You don't have STDs or anything, do you?"

Slade snorted. "Well it's a little late to be asking that now."

"Just answer the fucking question!" Robin slapped a hand to his mouth in shock. "Sh-Shit. I'm…I-I'm sorry."

Slade thrust in once. "Robin, if I knew I had diseases like that, I would either use a condom or not do this at all. Besides, I don't fuck everything that moves. In fact, to go into my personal life a bit here, I haven't had sex in years. Now, keep thinking of that happy thing and let me do this."

Robin stared at him for a few seconds and then nodded. "Okay…"

Shaking his head in annoyance, Slade thrust in, hitting Robin's prostate on the first try. His breath hitched in his throat.

"Wh-What…What was that?"

"Your prostate."

Robin groaned. "W-Well hit it a-again."

Slade smirked. "Oh I was planning on it."

Robin's body moved back with the next thrust. He tried to breathe steadily and think of the sunset, but it was impossible now. His head rolled to the right, a moan passing his lips. He suddenly wanted to hold onto something as this amazing feeling filled him to the brim. Not meaning to, his arms shot out, his claws extending. Slade growled lightly as they pierced his back after he wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him down. Robin groaned.

"S-Sorry…

"Don't worry about it," Slade said huskily. Robin moaned when his next thrust hit his prostate again. "Arch your back. Good boy."

Slade slid his arm underneath Robin and wrapped it around until his hand held his hip. He held his butt up off the bed for an easier penetration. With the use of his knees, he thrust in and part way out, repeating the process accordingly. Robin clawed his back to hold on when he quickened his pace. A loud moan passed his throat and he couldn't help but urge Slade to be a little more rough and faster. Robin decided he could handle much more than this.

"Oh G-God…S-Slade…" Soon their bodies moved in perfect sync, Robin tightening around Slade's cock lightly to be pleasurable, not painful. It was as if his body knew this day would come. Or perhaps his wolf instincts were more dominant than his human side. Either way, Robin wished he had been with Slade sooner. How could he have missed this? "Ah…ah, hah! I…I-I…cum. I…I-I have to…c-cum…"

Yes, Slade knew he had to. He couldn't very well ignore Robin's leaking tip against his stomach, now, could he? Placing his forehead on the bed beside his head, he slid his hand in between their bodies and grasped the pulsing organ. Robin cried out when he touched the sensitive tip covered in pre-cum. Slade opened his mouth in order to breathe, breathing hot air on his shoulder. He tightened his body in order to move a little faster, Robin's penis sliding easily through the semi-tight hold of his hand. A sound halfway between a moan and a growl escaped him. He tightened around Slade again, crying out as every nerve was touched. He felt himself getting closer and closer to his peak. Slade thrust in again.

"AH!" Robin spilled his seed all over his and Slade's stomach, his cum coming out in hot streams. "Ah, hah, hah…"

Lowering his hand back on the bed, Slade lifted his head, hoisted Robin's legs up higher so that they rested at his hips, and then forced himself onto his knees. He wrapped both arms around him and, as he thrust forward, pulled his body up against him, making him cry out. Robin's tail started to wag slowly and his ears folded back. He wrapped his arms tighter around him, placing one hand to the back of his head and gripping his hair tightly. He could feel Slade's member swelling bigger and bigger that it almost hurt. Maybe that was supposed to happen? Pain mixed with pleasure? Yeah, Robin would go with that. Besides, either/or, he had never felt anything better than this. With his shoulder closer to his mouth, Slade bit into it and then licked the faintly bruised skin. Robin gasped within a moan when he had done it, but he couldn't help but chuckle at the same time.

"Wh-Who is th-the wolf…n-now-? AHH!"

Slade just came when he had asked. They fell silent except for their labored breathing. Robin's claws slowly retracted from Slade's back, which had droplets of blood on it, and released the back of his head. He lay limp against him. Robin didn't know it, but Slade's tiny wounds were already closing and healing. It was only a matter of time before he recovered and thinking of the perfect comeback to Robin's question. He smirked.

"That just makes me the Alpha."

Robin was confused at first, but then he remembered. "S-So then I'm your b-bitch?"

"No, that would make you an Omega in this relationship."

Robin furrowed his brow as he frowned slightly, looking up at him. "What makes you th-think we're in a r-relationship? We've established you find me c-cute, as much as I _hate_ being called that, and yeah we did kind of have a d-dinner date, but is there l-love there? Isn't that wh-what a real relationship is? Love and doing things together?"

Slade hummed lightly. "Maybe. I haven't felt much of an emotion. So as far as loving you? I don't know. But that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. All I know is that you belong to me, seeing as that's the way wolves live. Once the Alpha has found his mate-"

Robin snorted. "Yes, I know. And once sex ensues, it makes it legit. Somehow I don't mind it working out that way. I mean, people that know me would think I would. I have no idea why though."

"You were against it for a while, remember?"

Robin scratched his head in between his ears. "Yeah, but I think it was because I wasn't so sure at the time." Robin looked away. "I do admit I find you attractive, but would the old me think that? You don't always have to see someone's face to think they're attractive. At least I don't think you do." Robin sighed, looked back up at Slade, and then shook his head. "I don't know. It makes me wonder why feelings are so complicated."

Slade had to agree on that one. That was one of the reasons he didn't like to show emotion. They always complicated things, like this moment for instance. Would they ever feel love toward one another or was this simply a sexual attraction? Exhaling, Slade lowered them back down, pulled out, and lay right up against Robin on his side. He wrapped his arm around his back and placed his chin on his shoulder. Robin rested his arm in between Slade's arm and side, placing his hand on his back. His tail wrapped itself around him.

"Some day we will know," Slade said.

Robin smiled softly. "Yeah…" For the next several minutes, they laid there in silence, neither moving. Robin was just about to close his eyes when he saw something move. Eyes widening, he lifted his head to look over the bed. That's when his heart stopped momentarily. "S-Slade?"

"Hm?"

"The tongue from the robot! It's alive!"

Slade's eyes shot open. They both sat up abruptly, looking over at the floor. The slimy tongue that belonged to the dismantled fighter-bot was inching its way towards the foot of the bed, leaving a blue trail behind. A metal piece was attached to the back end, helping it move. It suddenly pounced at the bed after getting up on its behind and then fell from its back weight. Jumping up and ignoring the trails of cum sliding down his body, Slade jumped off the bed beside the tongue and then kicked it. It flew back and crashed into the wall. It was still momentarily before moving again. Robin got up and grabbed his underwear and shorts, not wanting to fight the thing butt naked.

The tongue suddenly shot out, landing on Slade's foot. He stepped down on it, but it wouldn't let go. As he lifted his foot to try again, the tongue jumped onto it and then jumped again, landing on his hip. It continued its way up his body while he tried swatting it away. Robin yanked his shorts on right when it reached the right side of Slade's neck. Grabbing onto it with both hands, he tried to pry it off. He then flinched, a menacing growl passing clenched teeth.

"Dammit. It bit me."

Yanking out a boomerang from Slade's discarded belt, Robin ran over and stabbed the tongue with one end. Its hold loosened, allowing Slade to pull it off and throw it across the room. The tongue hit the wall and then fell with a splat. Slade's neck started to burn, making him clamp a hand to it. He felt the ooze and droplets of blood against his skin.

"How can a tongue bite?" Robin asked.

"I think it had burs inside the tissue and it forced them out, piercing me," Slade replied. Starting to feel dizzy now, he fell to his knees. "There must be poison in it. If it's the same poison from those bullets, then I will be unconscious soon. My body already feels numb."

Looking around, Robin found Slade's boxers. He went over and picked them up to hand them to him. Slade took them with a nod and attempted to pull them on after sitting. His breathing was unsteady and exhaustion was trying to force his eyes closed. While he did that, Robin washed cum off his chest and stomach and then dried off with a towel. After lifting himself up to yank his boxers over his butt, Slade fell sideways with a growl. Robin came out, went to him, and instantly knelt beside him, helping him roll over onto his back. His ears were folded back.

"This must be what slowly dying looks like."

Slade snorted in amusement despite the situation. "I wouldn't know," he said tiredly. "Haven't died that way before."

Robin blinked a few times before glancing at the tongue, which was still motionless. Just to be on the safe side, he walked over, stabbed the metal piece on its behind, and then pulled the blade across the entire tongue's length, cutting it in half. The poison within spilled out onto the floor. Robin then grabbed the towel he had used from the bathroom and laid it down on top of it so that no one would accidentally step on it later. By the time he returned to Slade's side, he had his eyes almost fully closed. Robin landed on his knees beside him and sighed.

"I hope that thing came alone. If the one who sent it is coming after me, I don't know what I would do."

Slade grabbed his hand on the floor. "If they are coming, I may be conscious before they arrive. If not, well I would just come after you and rescue you."

Robin smiled softly down at him. "If that isn't love, I don't know what is." Moving his legs out from under him, Robin laid his lithe body on top of Slade's chest and stomach and laid his head down. Slade managed to wrap his arm around him. With his hand on his chest, Robin moved the tips of his fingers across his skin, like he was pawing him. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and then let it out, feeling relaxed. "Someone has to take care of you, you big lug."

Slade didn't reply. His heartbeat was slowing. Even though Robin knew he was just unconscious, he still felt upset when his arm slowly started to fall. His ears fell and tears formed in his eyes once the contact was completely gone, hoping to God that Slade would be okay. That's when Robin decided-

_I love you._

Robin believed that now. He still wasn't sure why, but he found that he didn't care at all, because it no longer mattered.

**To Be Continued…**


	15. Mother Nature Chapter 15

**Have a happy Halloween! Please be safe! Keep your animals safe too!  
**

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

This chapter is pretty upsetting, so hold onto a pillow or your fave stuffed animal. Hell, if you have a cat, have him with ya. We FINALLY get to the main antagonist in the story and let me tell you, he is an evil bastards. And I mean REALLY evil. It makes Slade look like a harmless bunny rabbit. He has no remorse and is very greedy. There is one scene with a mother bear and her three cubs that is VERY disturbing and made me cry to write it. So here's a small note that will help prevent death threats or angry people at me

**NOTE:** I do **NOT** support animal abuse and cruelty. I am also pretty much anti-hunting and Taxidermy, though I know how useful both can be and don't care if others enjoy them. I love almost ALL animals and am sad that so many innocent ones get abused and killed every day

So there we have it. The bear scene near the end really made me sad to write it but it was necessary to have—this also shows how cruel my antagonist is. No death threats or angry words saying I'm a cruel and evil person because I am not. It is, after all, just fiction and I do not support that kind of shit in real life. I hope the ending doesn't make anyone sick to their stomachs :s Because it sure does to Robin's, poor kid ;w;

**SladinForever**

* * *

It was the middle of the night. Robin's ears perked up in his sleep. After a few seconds, they twitched, trying to catch the noise that they heard. His eyes shot open abruptly. His tail was wrapped around his waist and was tightening its hold. Robin raised his head off Slade's chest and his right ear turned backwards, hoping to hear another noise. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck started to rise, his eyes widening. His heart was beating twice as fast. Growling, Robin whipped around, only for a thick cord to slam down over his head. It tightened around his neck, almost making him choke.

"Got him, sir," a Russian man said.

Robin growled at the tall, thin man holding the pole of the snare currently around his neck. He had black hair and deep gray eyes. He looked like the quiet, dangerous type. Eyes narrowing, the man pulled the pole down, forcing Robin's arms to bend at the elbow. He dug his nails across the floor, ready to attack if he needed to.

"Excellent, Larson." A Caucasian male with short red hair and ice blue eyes stepped up beside the older man, a cruel smirk on his face. Robin could sense the darkness around him, making his tail bristle in rage. He growled loudly, his fangs growing out. The man chuckled. "I would save your strength, boy. I'm not going to fight or hurt you."

"Bullshit," Robin said angrily. "You sent that fighter-bot after me, didn't you? You expect me to believe your lies after that?"

The man snorted in amusement. "It was just a way to get my live feed here. I honestly thought you would dispatch it a lot sooner than you did, no injuries included. Oh well, you almost won unscathed. The same could apply now, minus the winning part. Come quietly and without resistance and I will ensure you are safe. Pets should only be disciplined if they do bad things anyway."

Robin growled. "I'm no one's pet."

The man chuckled darkly. "Yes you are: mine." He stepped towards Slade. Robin turned his gaze in his direction. When he crouched beside Slade, he turned and lunged. Larson yanked the pole back, pulling him back as well. Robin's eyes widened in fear when the man pulled out a hunter's knife from his belt, pressing the tip lightly to Slade's left breast. "If you don't come with me, pet, I will kill this man you are so fond of."

"I am not fond of-"

The man smirked, pressing the blade a little harder against Slade's skin. "Oh, I know you two fucked before we got here," he said cruelly. "Gave us quite a treat. If you don't want him to die, then I suggest you come with me."

Robin's face softened in indecisiveness. He glanced at Slade, hearing his voice in his head.

_I will save you._

A semi-calm overcame Robin then and he relaxed, stepping back a few inches. "Please, just leave him alone," he said, defeated. "I'll come quietly."

The man stared at Robin for a few seconds before moving the blade away and standing up, placing it back in his belt. He smirked softly. "That's my good pet," he said, approaching him. "Let him up, Larson." Nodding, the Russian man loosened the cord, allowing Robin to slowly stand. He stared angrily at the floor, his nails digging painfully into his palms as he clenched his hands into fists at his side. "Let's go."

"Yes, sir."

Robin glanced at Slade, who was still unconscious. _'__You better save me, dummy.'_

Larson yanked on the pole to force Robin to move. He reluctantly turned around and followed the two men out. They went outside where a green military van with two doors on the back was waiting.

"By the way, my name is Drake. I would prefer sir from you. A slip up now and again is fine," he explained, opening the doors. He took the pole from Larson, who went around to the driver's side of the vehicle. He yanked Robin towards him. "And whether you like it or not, I will call you 'pet' if I choose to. You belong to me now. I won't sell you for anything. Understand, pet?"

Robin swallowed and then said, "I understand."

He clenched his eyes shut in annoyance when Drake patted him on the head. "Alright, then be a good pet and get in. It will be bumpy since we'll be driving through the wilderness most of the time to avoid suspicions from bystanders." Robin glanced back at Slade's hideout, wishing he could get away. Drake tugged hard on his left ear. "Your one night stand will be fine. Don't make me tell you again."

Robin looked back at the vehicle, just now noticing something big inside on the left side. Sighing, he placed one knee on the edge and started to crawl in. Drake loosened the wire around his neck and then pulled it off before closing the doors tight and locking them. Robin was now in total darkness. He tensed when he heard the vehicle start. It began to move forward, going over rocks and bumps on the forest floor. Sighing, Robin slowly crawled forward. The van jerked suddenly, making him crash his head into the wall. He growled at it before rolling over and sitting down on the cold, steel floor. Looking at the dark mass on his right, he adjusted his vision in order to see better. After glancing at it for a few seconds, Robin's eyes widened.

Lying unconscious on the bed of the van, with a metal collar around his slim neck, was his friend Beast Boy. He had numerous wounds on his body that hadn't been taken care of in one week or more. Robin didn't understand it. How could these men have captured Beast Boy with the other Titans around? Anger boiled inside of Robin. Why was everything becoming his fault? First he wasted Slade's time in creating a cure that mostly failed. Then the Titans started looking at him in a different light, especially during fights with bad guys. After that, while he and Beast Boy wrestled, Robin played too rough and hurt him terribly, giving the others no choice but to kick him out in fear he'd hurt one of them again. And now this? Why was this happening? How many more peoples' lives was he going to ruin? Unable to help it, as his anger boiled over the edge, Robin turned and rammed his body into the wall, yelling and cursing his lungs out.

"You fucking bastards! I'm going to fucking kill you!" His fangs grew out along with his claws. Robin attacked the van wall, putting deep claw marks into the thick steel. "You've gone too far you fucking coward!"

In the front seats, Drake glanced into the back. The wall shuddered violently. He glared at it. "Stop the van, Larson."

"Yes sir."

Larson slammed on the brake, making Robin crash into the wall and fall. He growled in anger. He heard a door open a few feet ahead, footsteps coming from the side, and then the sound of keys rustling. Robin rolled over and got his claws ready. There was a small click and the door was yanked open. Robin charged forward, swiping at Drake. He caught his wrist and then pulled him out.

"GAAH!" Robin's head hit a rock when he fell out of the van.

"I think you need to sit with me on this trip," Drake said nastily, dragging Robin towards the side after slamming the door and locking it. Robin struggled and growled. "You're being a bad pet." Drake opened the back seat door.

"I'll kill you if you keep fucking calling me that!" Robin screamed.

Drake entered the back seat sideways. Once seated, he yanked Robin up and inside, not caring that he hit his head in the process. He struggled wildly when he forced him on his lap. After slamming the door and locking both, Drake gave the keys back to Larson and told him to continue driving. The van started back up and was moving again. Robin elbowed Drake and thrashed around, trying to get away. Drake forced his arms against his sides, causing him to start kicking.

"You're pissing me off." Robin kicked his heel into the bone of his leg. Drake didn't appreciate it at all. "Don't make me hurt you."

"LIKE YOU FUCKING COULD!"

Larson felt like his ear drums would burst. "Sir, you should try zat one method."

Robin wasn't sure what kind of "method" Larson was talking about, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was get out, save Beast Boy, and return to Slade for help. He needed to set things right. Robin suddenly stopped, his body tense. Embarrassment crossed his face.

_'Oh god, he's-'_

"S-Stop…"

"It's a good thing I have you around, Larson," Drake said, ignoring Robin's plea. His right hand was currently in between his thighs, stroking him. Robin was clenching and unclenching his fingers against his legs. He was no longer thrashing and cursing. Drake chuckled in his ear. "That's a good pet. See what happens when you listen to me?"

Robin was panting. Drake lowered the front of his shorts and boxers, pulling the tip out and aiming it at the floor. His pace quickened.

"Ah, ah, ah, AAAH!"

Cum splattered the floor as Robin released his load. Tears formed in his eyes while he panted. This wasn't fair. Once he fell back in exhaustion against him, Drake released him and pulled his clothing back up. He then pet his head gently.

"That's a good pet," he said softly. "Now that I have you calmed down, I can tell you the consequences of being bad. Your friend is weak from pain. Do something I don't like, and I _will_ kill him. Understand? Now, apologize for attacking me and being bad."

Tears streamed down Robin's face. He sobbed. "I-I'm sorry."

"Hey, no need to cry," Drake said, gently tugging his left ear. "I had to calm you down somehow. No need to be ashamed." Drake patted Robin's head before wrapping his arms around his stomach. Robin's tears soon stopped. He couldn't _help_ but feel ashamed, knowing that his body betrayed him. Being called a pet when he was a human being always seemed to hurt for some reason too. "Larson, close the wall between the seats. The moonlight is bothering me."

"Yes, sir."

Without taking his eyes off the forest road, Larson pushed a button on the dashboard. A black wall slid between the gap of the seats, filling the back seat in darkness. Robin's ears fell forward and his tail slowly wrapped around him. He didn't like that he had to sit in this psycho's lap for god knows how long. Especially since he was sitting right on Drake's-

"We should reach the next town by morning. We'll need fuel when we get there."

Robin didn't reply. Grabbing his tail, he began to play with it, feeling even more depressed each passing second. Drake didn't say anything else. Robin's eyes widened slightly when he leaned back against the seat, forcing him back with him. His eyes narrowed into a glare. He kept silent though, hoping that if he was good, Drake would let him sit on the seat later. Only one thing was going through his mind. Robin was missing Slade so much already.

* * *

Robin sighed. He hadn't had any sleep for the rest of the night. Drake, on the other hand, was sleeping like a baby. Robin would always try getting out of his lap, but he would just tighten his hold in his sleep for a while and relax again. Robin's butt was becoming numb. And, he had to go. Like, right this second. Robin squirmed and tried getting Drake's arm off his bladder. This roused him from his sleep. He blinked rapidly and then sat up a little straighter.

"Erg, what's wrong, pet?" Drake asked, stretching and yawning.

Robin growled lightly at the pet part. "I have to pee."

Drake ran his hand over his face a few times. "Is it morning yet?"

Robin had an annoyed look on his face. "How should I know?"

"It must be if you're this cranky." Reaching over Robin, Drake tapped the wall. It slid open, revealing dim sunlight. "Larson, how many more miles 'til the next town?"

"I already took ze liberty of getting on the main road and ze Exit is coming right up, sir."

"Alright, then take it. My pet has to use the bathroom and we need to make a pit stop. We must be running low on gas now."

"Yes sir."

Robin rubbed his eye. Drake set him aside, finally, and stretched better. "I wish I could fit a hot tub in this piece of junk." Robin stared at his hands in his lap, somewhat weirded out by Drake's mood. Did sleeping make him act like a carefree man when he got up or what? "I will be glad when we reach my private land." Larson pulled into a Chevron gas station. He parked into a spot closest to the bathroom, which was a single metal door on the side of the Quickie-Mart. He got out to fill the tank. Drake scooted over to the door and opened it. After getting out, he looked at Robin. "Well come on."

Swallowing, Robin moved across the seats. Drake stepped aside to let him out. After glancing around to make sure no one was looking, he grabbed Robin's arm and led him to the bathroom. The door stood ajar and was empty. Robin sighed quietly when they both stepped in, Drake shutting the door behind him. After telling him to hurry up, Robin walked over to the toilet and tried to go. Nothing happened. He looked at Drake out of the corner of his eye.

"I…I can't do it with you staring at me." Shrugging, Drake turned around, facing the corner. Robin tried again, but it still wasn't working. "Can you step outside?"

"No, just get it over with."

Robin scowled. "I can't pee with you in here."

Drake snorted but left anyway. He waited outside, standing on the right of the door. A minute later and it opened, Robin stepping out. Drake suddenly grabbed his arm, surprising him. He flinched when he used his free hand to slap him in the face.

"Don't talk back to me, boy. Apologize."

Robin rubbed his cheek. "I'm sorry," he said, not actually meaning it.

Drake gave a curt nod before pulling him towards the van, which was in a parking space. He forced Robin inside before talking to Larson in the driver seat.

"Keep the doors locked. I'm getting some food, water, and clothes for my pet. Don't want him freezing to death."

Robin held back a snort. It wasn't even that cold outside.

"Yes, sir." Drake slammed the door shut. Robin heard the locks click, making his ears fall. Larson glanced at him from the rear view mirror. "You should be happy you know." Robin glanced up at him. "You are very special to Drake."

Robin glared at him. "I don't do _special_."

Larson snorted before looking away. Robin sighed heavily, feeling angry again. A few minutes later and Drake was knocking on the door. Larson unlocked them and he got in, slamming the door behind him. He had a few plastic grocery bags in his hands. After setting them aside, he rummaged through one and pulled out a red T-shirt. He tossed it to Robin.

"You should put that on."

Looking down at the shirt, Robin picked it up and pulled it on over his head. It was almost too big on him, but it was better than too tight or nothing at all. He suddenly yelped in surprise when Drake pulled him back on his lap.

"Please warn me next time," Robin said as politely as possible.

Ignoring him, Drake said, "Let's go Larson."

"Yes sir."

Larson started the van, put it in reverse, and pulled out of the parking space. After making sure no one was coming, he pulled out onto the street and headed towards the Exit. Drake rummaged through another bag beside him, looking at the food items he bought.

"Hungry?"

Robin was suddenly very surprised. Was Drake Bipolar? First he was a dick and now he was asking if he was hungry. Robin swallowed. There was two ways this could go. If he said yes, then Drake would say, 'well too bad; you've been bad and don't deserve it'. If he said no, then he would say, 'I insist that you do'. Robin didn't know what kind of person Drake was, except the evil part. Maybe he was Bipolar or maybe he wasn't. What should he say?

Taking a chance, Robin said, "Uh, no, I'm fine." He quickly added, "Sir."

"Are you sure, pet?" Drake asked, surprising Robin again. "You shouldn't go without breakfast every single day."

Robin swallowed again. "Um, yeah. I'm fine."

Drake patted his head. "All right then."

Robin closed his mouth, wondering what the deranged man would do or say next. He decided he didn't want to know.

* * *

Slade's left eye tightened before slowly opening. The feeling in his limbs were returning and his heart beat was returning to normal. He could finally breathe again too. Slowly sitting up, he looked around, feeling a bit dizzy. He couldn't remember anything that had happened before he fell unconscious. He vaguely remembered Robin lying on him-

"Robin?" He looked around again, not seeing him anywhere. Groaning quietly, he carefully stood up and checked the bathroom. The light was off. "Robin? If you're hiding, it's okay. You can come out." There was no response. Growling, he stalked out and searched his hideout from top to bottom, inside and out, calling Robin's name over and over again. There was still no reply. "Dammit…"

Slade returned to his room, entering the bathroom. He stood in front of his body mirror and noticed that the hours-old cum had hardened on his skin. His eyes narrowed slightly when something caught his eye. Stepping closer, he touched the very thin line underneath his left pectoral. His brain instantly came up with an explanation: the one who sent the fighter robot had seen them in bed, sent the tongue after Slade, arrived while he was unconscious, and kidnapped Robin. This angered Slade deeply. Turning, he left and went to his closet. Opening it, he stepped inside and touched a metal panel of the wall that was a foot long. A drawer slowly came out, revealing folded Kevlar suits. He pulled half of them out, touched the panel to close the drawer, and then opened another with the same method. This one was only three inches deep and held one item; Slade's mask. Taking it out, he stared at it with blank, narrowed eyes. Ever since Robin had seen his face and accepted it, he had silently promised him that he would never wear it again. For now, he would bend it and then fix it once Robin was back home again. A determined look crossed Slade's face as he started putting on the mask.

_'Don't worry, Robin. I'm coming for you.'_

Somewhere else, at a different time, the van was cruising down the highway. Drake had eaten a Slim Jim not too long ago. Robin was still in his lap, feeling bored. He was so bored, in fact, that his eyes drooped and his head jerked down a few times. He felt physically and mentally exhausted, mostly emotionally. His ears twitched and his tail bristled every few minutes.

"Tired?" Drake asked. Robin exhaled from his nose, his eyes almost closing. His head jerked again. "Yep, you are. I don't blame you. The drive is long and boring. You can take a nap if you want." Robin sighed quietly. His tail wrapped around him as he closed his eyes. Drake yawned. "I think I'll join you. Larson, close the window."

"Yes sir."

The wall slid into place, casting the back seat in darkness. Robin's eyes shot open in surprise when Drake fell over sideways onto the seat to stretch out. It was wide enough to let them both be on it, Robin halfway on his body. His arms wrapped securely around his waist. Robin growled low in his throat but stayed silent. Closing his eyes, he allowed his exhaustion to force him into sleep. It lasted for about an hour and a half. The bumpy ground they drove on woke him up with a small start. Drake was petting his head.

"We should be to the factory soon," he said when he realized he was awake.

Robin blinked. "Factory?" he asked, finally thinking of questions with possible answers that could tell him the reason why Drake thought he was so special.

"Yes, my business," Drake said, sitting them both up. He set Robin on the seat next to him. "I'll tell you more after we get there. Just be patient."

Robin scratched the left side of his neck with his claws when he got an itch. A few minutes later and the van suddenly came to a full stop. Larson slid the wall open.

"Sir, ve have a small problem."

Looking out the windshield, Drake saw a large bear sniffing the forest floor. He grinned. "It _has_ been a while since I last hunted," he said, scooting over towards the door. Robin watched him out of the corner of his eye, his tail wrapping around him. "You placed it on the roof, right?"

"Yes sir."

Robin's tail tightened its grip. It usually did it when something bad was going to happen. Opening his door, Drake stood up on the seat while reaching for something underneath a tarp on the roof. Robin heard metal scraping against steel. His eyes widened when he saw a glimpse of a hunting rifle in Drake's hands. He aimed the muzzle directly at the bear, who seemed oblivious to what was going on a few feet away. Looking through the metal sight, he aimed at the bear's ribcage. Robin saw blood splattering in his mind.

"NO!"

Drake pulled the trigger, the gun shot going off. The bear suddenly roared and stepped sideways after the bullet pierced it. "One more should to it," he muttered.

Growling, Robin threw himself sideways at Drake right as he pulled the trigger again. The bullet, after they were both knocked out of the van, moved a few inches to the right, hitting the bear again. It fell after the second shot. Drake dropped the rifle and cursed, Robin landing right on him. Scrambling off him, he ran to the bear's side and crouched by its head. He looked at the wounds and saw the blood on the bear's side. It made a small roar of pain.

"Wh-Why are you w-with that evil man?" It was female. "I-If I die, my c-cubs w-won't survive."

Robin stopped breathing at hearing this. He was about to say something when Drake stepped up beside him and used his heel to kick him backwards. Robin sat up quickly and jumped when he fired a third bullet at the bear. She roared. Drake continued to shoot her.

"Stop it! She has cubs!"

Drake fired his final bullet. The bear was no longer moving. Tears formed in Robin's eyes when he sensed that she was about to die. Drake turned on him then, a glare on his face.

"Wolves and bears are enemies you know. Why would you care?" Robin was about to yell at him about kids seeing their parents dying in front of them when they heard softer roars a few feet away from the mother. Drake smirked when he saw baby bears coming towards their dead mother. "You were right. The question is, how?"

Robin growled at him as he sat up, crouching on his hands and feet. "All animals can talk! Humans are just too stubborn and close-minded to hear them!" he shouted, quoting the badger. "You're no different! And I care because my mother was murdered right in front of me!"

Drake looked at him as if he didn't give a damn. "Pity." Larson was standing by the driver door. Drake looked at him. "Larson, toss me another round of bullets. We'll kill two cubs and keep the other."

Nodding, Larson pulled out a case of bullets and tossed it to Drake, who began to reload his rifle. Jumping up, Robin tackled him to the ground. He held him down, growling in his face.

"I won't let you!"

Drake hit the underside of Robin's jaw with the butt of the rifle, making him crash backwards from the blow. "Larson, hold him back and make him watch while I kill these pathetic beasts."

Robin sat up and began to stand, growling, when Larson came up behind him. He grabbed him around the arms and pulled him back while he began to struggle.

"Please, leave them alone!" Drake aimed the muzzle at the cubs. "Please don't kill them! They're just-!"

Robin stopped in surprise when the gunshot went off. One of the three cubs fell with a weak roar. Drake shot a second one in the head, blood splattering the ground. Robin sensed that they died instantly. Drake then shot the legs of the third one, only hurting it enough to be unable to get away. It cried in pain and agony after it fell. Robin put up his struggling again, trying to get free from Larson's very strong grip. Once satisfied with his work, Drake pulled out his hunting knife, stepped up to the crying cub, and chopped one of the dead legs off, making Robin sick to his stomach as the thin bones cracked in half. Blood pooled out of the other end, making the cub cry louder from the immense pain. Tears formed in Robin's eyes as he heard the cub yelling for his mother to help. Drake placed his rifle strap over his head and began to skin the leg. Turning around, he cut small, bloody strips of meat off and approached them.

"Well, you should probably eat now since you didn't earlier," he said, stopping in front of a disgusted looking Robin. "Open up." Robin began to struggle again, trying to keep the meat away from him and his tightly closed mouth. "Open his mouth."

Robin began to kick Larson's shins with his heel, trying to make him let go, but it was useless. He grabbed a firm hold of his lower jaw and pried them open. Clenching his eyes shut, Robin gagged as Drake stuffed the meat down his throat. Larson closed it shut while Drake covered his mouth and held his nose. After a few seconds, Robin couldn't help but swallow. He whimpered before they repeated the process three more times. Drake then slapped his cheek before telling Larson to let him go. Robin fell to the ground, coughing. Crawling away a few inches, he forced his finger down his throat, making the meat come back up as he vomited. Tears streamed down his face. Anger, disgust, and anguish were all mixed inside of him. He sobbed and cried.

"Larson, grab the cub and throw it with the changeling," Drake said, ignoring Robin vomiting a second time. "We're heading out in a few."

"Yes, sir."

While Larson went to grab the bleeding and crying cub, Drake placed the rifle back on the roof and covered it with the tarp. Robin felt very queasy to his stomach, but nothing else would come up because there was nothing left. Stepping up behind him, Drake grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him to his feet.

"For part wolf, you sure are a big fat baby," he said nastily, forcing Robin towards the van. Reaching the open door, he threw him inside and then started to get in. He forced Robin against the other door before sitting down and slamming his door shut. Robin curled up in a tight ball on the seat, shaking, sobbing, and crying. The slamming of the back doors made him jump. Drake snorted. "Stop it already. You're an embarrassment."

"Sh-Shut up…!"

Larson got into the driver's seat and started the vehicle back up. "Ve'll be at headquarters in one hour sir."

"Thank you, Larson," Drake said.

Nodding, Larson closed the shutter window and then started to drive. Robin, meanwhile, was curled up tight, ignoring his queasy stomach. He had a dark death glare on his face, swearing to make this evil man pay.

**To Be Continued…**


	16. Mother Nature Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

**New Author Note: **Hello! Just wanted people to know why this is a day late. I bought a new video game last week and got it Monday. So I've been playing it ever since. I'm about halfway done with the storyline, but I plan on getting all the goodies as well, so it'll be a while before I beat it. So I'm taking a computer break for a while. I'm pretty sure I'll be back by next Wednesday, where updates will be normal, though. The only reason I'm on now is because my sister and her friends are over for her birthday and are watching a movie with my Xbox 360. Once its over, I'm moving it to my room and continuing to play. But I wanted to get on to post this and check my messages. So there you go, that's my explanation

**Old Author Note: **I'm sorry about last chapter's end :( Every time I read it I cry. I sorry if I made any of you cry D: Sad stuff makes me cry all the time! I'm pretty good at writing sad things. I've dealt with death quite a bit since we've always had so many good pets pass away and I've lost grandparents in the last 7-8 years, so I have experience. But crying can be good! Makes me feel better afterward. Anyway, the next few chapters are of Robin's stay with Drake. Book 1 is nearing the end, so stay tuned!

**SladinForever**

* * *

For the rest of the ride, Robin hadn't changed his position, still angry and upset at what happened. They were back on smooth ground. Drake strummed his fingers on the arm rest as his arm lay there. The small wall moved aside a few minutes later.

"Almost there, sir," Larson said.

"Thank you."

Robin's right ear twitched. Meanwhile, in the back of the van, Beast Boy had finally stopped crying over the poor bear cub. He had woken up from the gunshots. He had pretended to still be out when Larson opened the doors and threw the cub in with him. After seeing what Drake had done to his leg, Beast Boy was sickened by it. Not wanting the cub to continue suffering, he had killed him. That was why he had been crying up until that point. He knew it was the right thing to do, but it still upset him. He'd never killed an innocent creature before.

The van slowly came to a stop and the sound of people walking around came in through the walls. Glaring, Beast Boy turned into a tiger and waited. Drake's door opened, revealing a few people on the other side. A scrawny nineteen year old greeted him.

"Welcome back, boss," he said enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Danny," Drake said. Turning to look at Robin, he patted his foot. "We're at Headquarters, pet. Get up."

Not waiting for a reply, Drake got out of the car and stretched. Robin didn't move or look up. Danny cleared his throat.

"You heard him. Get out of the car." Robin didn't budge. His tail fell onto the seat and flopped up and down softly every few seconds. Getting impatient, Danny reached in, grabbed it, and pulled. "AAAAAAAAAAACK! Get him off me! Get him off me!"

The second his tail had been pulled, Robin had turned on the unsuspecting teen, claws and fangs at the ready. He was currently holding Danny down on the dirt ground, growling angrily in his face. Lifting his right hand, Robin was about to hit him across the face with his sharp claws, but a hand grabbed his wrist firmly, making him stop.

"Don't hurt my employees, pet." Drake pulled Robin to his feet before handing him off to Larson. He pulled him away from Danny, who scrambled to get up. "You alright, Dan?"

Danny was breathing heavily from fright. Robin glared at him, his ears all the way back and his tail wagging back and forth threateningly, as a warning to not piss him off.

"God, he's a monster," Dan said.

Robin growled loudly.

"That's what happens when you pull on tails," Drake said, dusting him off and ignoring Robin. "Get a few of the guards and get the stuff out of the back. There should be a boy and a bear cub in there, both helpless."

Danny smiled, his fear suddenly gone. "Yes boss."

Danny bolted after turning around. After staring after him a few seconds longer, Drake turned around and approached Larson.

"Mort, I need your assistance."

He stopped a few feet in front of Larson. A large fat man with brown hair and matching mustache came out of the small crowd. He wore a black uniform with a black belt. It carried a club, three knives, and metal rings.

Reaching Drake, he said with a deep voice, "I'm here, boss."

"Collar my pet for me, Mortimer. I will be unloading the van while you do that."

"Yes boss," Mortimer said, taking a ring off his belt. While Drake went to remove the tarp, Mortimer approached Robin, who continued to glare. "It's about damn time you got here, boy." He stopped in front of him and Larson. "Just hold still and I won't pinch your neck." Robin was silent and completely still. Holding the collar with both hands, Mort tried to place it around his neck. Turning his head suddenly, Robin opened his mouth wide and chomped down on his hand. "GAAAAAAH! Dammit!"

Drake stopped what he was doing to turn to his employees. He saw Mortimer's left hand bleeding from bite marks that Robin's fangs left. Leaning sideways against the van, he watched the next few attempts at getting the collar on Robin's neck unfold, smirking.

After wrapping his hand with bandages, Mortimer had Larson hold onto Robin's chin to keep his head still. Holding the collar with both hands again, he tried a second time. When he was close enough, Robin kicked the front of his ankle bone, making him growl in pain. Robin instantly lifted his other leg, pushing both feet hard into Mort's stomach. He lost his balance from the force and fell, crashing into the ground. Some employees couldn't help but snicker at the incident. Mortimer had never been knocked down before, and by a child less than half his size no less.

"Damn brat," Mortimer mumbled, attempting to stand. He had some difficulties. Once he regained his balance, he stepped up to the defiant teen, who was still this whole time. "Hold his legs, Larson!"

"Yes Mort."

Larson wrapped his legs around Robin's from the front, holding them still. Mortimer tried a third time to get the collar around his neck. Jerking his head out of Larson's grip on his chin, Robin elbowed him in the ribs on both sides, jumped up before they both fell because of their legs, and spun around in the air, kicking Mortimer directly in the neck. His head jerked painfully to the side and he fell onto his stomach, unconscious. Some of the other people froze in shock, a few gulping. Robin landed in a crouch, digging his nails into the dirt and growling at him. Dan and a few guards arrived by that time, looking stunned.

"He knocked Mortimer down?" Danny asked. "No one has _ever_ knocked him down."

Gritting his fangs together, Robin suddenly charged at Dan, who's eyes widened in fear. He stumbled and tripped, landing on his back. He sat up and tried to scramble away right as Robin lunged, his claws ready to tear him to shreds. Like a girl, Danny screamed.

A metal collar came around Robin's neck and the ends locked together. It was attached to a pole. A guard pulled it down. Robin fell inches from Dan, who had peed his pants in his fright. Robin growled angrily at him.

"Well I have." Danny looked like he would faint. Robin bared his fangs. "What's the matter? Wolf got your _tongue_?"

There was silence for a second, but then someone started to clap. Jerking his head to the right, Robin growled at Drake, who actually looked impressed.

"You see, pet, this is why you're special," he said, stepping up to his crouched form. He stopped clapping when he reached him. "Not only are you the first anthropomorphic to be created, not born, but the first to ever defeat Mortimer. Your strong will and raw power is what I like to see." Grabbing the collar, Drake pulled Robin to his feet, bringing his face up to his own. He smirked while Robin growled. "You belong to me now. Anyone dumb enough to try and take you from me dies." Drake shoved Robin away, who almost stumbled and fell. He regained his balance. Drake turned to the others. "Robin is my pet and if any one of you think of taking him from me, I will kill you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" almost everyone said simultaneously.

Smirking, Drake turned to Dan, who looked up at him. "Go take a nice, hot shower, Dan. My men will take it from here." Nodding numbly, Danny slowly stood up and headed for one of the cabins, almost walking like a penguin while he kept his legs spread. Some of the employees held back laughs at the hilarious scene. "Guards, take care of the cub and changeling. I must take my pet to my office. I have tons of work to do."

"Yes, sir."

Four guards went to the back to open the doors as Drake turned to Robin. He walked past him and took the pole from the other guard. He was about to head for the largest building in the wasteland right as a guard opened a door. Robin's eyes widened when he saw a large green tiger jump out and attack him. The man cried out as Beast Boy clawed at him, anger clouding his judgment. Drake turned back and stared at the scene in annoyance. After the guard started to bleed, Beast Boy spun around and roared. Once he laid eyes on Robin, they widened and he changed back while in a crouch.

"Robin?!"

Robin's eyes widened. "Beast Boy!"

One of the guards looped a snare around Beast Boy's neck, tightening it around him.

"Gack!"

Beast Boy fell backwards after the guard pulled on the pole. He struggled to get free, resulting in his airways getting cut off from the wire. Growling, Robin spun around, aiming a roundhouse kick for Drake's ribs. The man grabbed his ankle, forced his knee in between his legs, and forced him down onto his back, digging his knee into his gut. He pushed the end of the pole against the ground as he leaned over him.

"Stop and apologize, or I'll have him killed."

Robin was panting. When he heard Beast Boy gasping for breath, he swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Drake stared at him for a few seconds before getting up and calling the guards off. The loop loosened around Beast Boy's neck. He coughed and gulped in air.

"Take him to the Chamber. Make sure he's locked up tight. I don't want him escaping. And don't forget the cub. I need his DNA."

Robin and Beast Boy both started to rise at the same time. The green Titan rubbed his throat. "I-I was coming to find you. Right after we got your e-mail. Then dickhead behind you attacked me." He glared at Drake. "What the hell do you want?!" Robin's ears fell. Ignoring the changeling, Drake tugged on the pole and headed for the building several yards away. Robin had no choice but to turn around and follow him. "Robin! I'm sorry for what we did to you, okay! I'm really, really sorry!"

Robin stared at the ground as he walked after Drake. The guard yanked on his pole, forcing Beast Boy around and making him walk.

"Back to work everyone!" Drake said to the others.

"Yes, sir!"

Robin inhaled deeply and then forced it out. His tail wrapped securely around him. Reaching the large building half a minute later, Drake opened the large door and stepped inside. Robin stepped through and looked up. His eyes widened as the door slammed shut behind him. The building was a single floor, except for the small office space up above, and was filled with cages. The sounds of animals echoed through the vast space. Robin glanced at them, noticing tons of children and teens with ears and tails of animals attached to them. In a far corner sat a bunch of science labs. Dozens of scientists were putting chemicals together and burning water and concoctions. In several places around the room were concrete boxes with windows. Kids were inside, being examined and getting tested. For what, Robin didn't know. In one place, there were a bunch of people at desks, taking phone calls and writing or typing stuff down. It looked like a giant factory. Robin couldn't believe this was happening. Where had all these kids come from?

"Ah, well if it isn't the special freak."

Robin stopped next to a cage. An eighteen year old boy with messy, brown hair, dark brown skin, and golden eyes with bits of green was holding the bars, poking his head through. He had a long black tail and black cat ears. Drake turned to him.

"Afternoon, Noah. Behaving today?"

Noah snorted. "You know jaguars, they're stubborn. So no." He looked at Robin. "I don't see anything special about a filthy, smelling mutt."

Drake tsked at him. "Now, now Noah, be nice. I don't want to have to put you in with you-know-who again."

Noah snorted. "Whatever, piss face." Drake chuckled. "By the way, I'm starving. Your servers are too fucking slow."

Robin looked away, not liking Noah very much.

"Patience is a virtue. And one more remark is gonna get you into the Coliseum, _without_ dinner in your stomach."

Noah laughed. "I can take that stupid snow leopard on any time," he said loudly. Robin noticed out of the corner of his eye that some of the other kids in cages were rolling their eyes or shaking their heads. Some were even holding their hands over their animal ears to stop listening to him. "Anyway, have fun with your master, mutt." Robin looked back at Noah, who was smirking at him. "Your ass is _fucked_."

Looking over at a guard, Drake called to him. "Noah needs another timeout! Take care of him for me!"

"Yes boss!"

Letting go of the bars, Noah stepped back and folded his arms over his chest. He sneered at Robin, whose ears fell back. Drake tugged lightly on the snare pole, causing him to look away and follow him towards the stairs leading up into the office.

"Later, mutt!"

When Drake reached the stairs, he took the pole off the collar, handed it to a guard, and then ascended the stairs. Robin followed, feeling upset again. They soon reached the door. Drake unlocked and opened it.

"You won't be seeing them very much," he said, closing the door behind Robin after he entered. He walked past him. "Only when I have potential buyers come in will you be put in with those kids." Going to the desk, Drake sat down in his black leather chair. "Come sit over on my left side so I can explain my rules to you." Robin hesitantly approached him. "Sit like a dog in a sitting heel position. But be on your knees with your hands out in front of you."

Robin's eyes narrowed as he did what he was told. He sat on the back of his legs on the hard wood floor, his hands curled into fists out in front of him. He already felt humiliated. He was a human being, not an animal. "Now, every day you will sit here by my side. If you get tired after a while, you can lie down, but not on your side. You will keep your legs underneath you at all times. You only get fed breakfast and dinner. No snacks or lunch in between. If you stay quiet when employees come in or are good, I may give you a treat." Robin was starting to think Noah was right. In Drake's eyes, he was just a mutt, not a human with feelings. "If you need to use the bathroom, tell me and I will let you go. When I have employees in here, don't speak unless spoken to. Most will ignore you anyway. Some may or may not want to pet you or something to that effect, but if they do, don't attack or you will get punished for it. I expect you to be fully obedient and respectful. Do you understand, pet?" Robin stared at the floor, his knees already starting to ache. He tensed when Drake placed a heavy hand on his head. "This is the part where you say, 'yes, sir'."

"…Yes sir," Robin said, defeated.

Drake patted his head. "Good boy. I have tons of paper work to do, so be quiet unless you need the bathroom."

"Yes sir."

Robin's arms started to shake. He was not used to this position, _period_. For the next few hours, the sound of a pen clicking as Drake wrote on paper resounded around the office. To distract his aching knees, Robin glanced at the room and noted its contents. There was a large bookshelf near the front door, filled with novels and encyclopedias. There was a second door, closed, which he thought could be the bathroom. To his left were two mattresses on the floor, covered in heavy blankets—one king-sized, the other a single. Neither had been made, making Drake seem like a slob. The walls were white and smooth. The desk was made of dark oak. There were two black baskets filled with papers on the surface. One was an IN box, the other an OUT box. Drake placed a piece of paper into the OUT box.

After another hour, Robin felt like his knee caps would break. They hurt really bad. He exhaled quietly out of his nose. Something suddenly beeped. Stopping what he was doing, Drake picked up a black device with a screen. He pushed the button at the top, the alarm stopping mid-beep. The screen showed the time: 7:00 PM.

"Well, it's dinner time," Drake said, setting his pen down and then leaning back to stretch. "Hungry?"

"No sir," Robin said tiredly.

Drake dropped his arms onto the arm rests. Placing his hand on Robin's head, he began to pet him softly, scratching behind his ears every so often. He stopped suddenly to look down at him. "I just now noticed how soft your hair is." Drake felt his ear. "The fur on your ears is soft too. I like how black they are." Robin closed his eyes, wishing he'd shut up. Taking his hand away, Drake stood up. "Well, if you're not hungry, I guess you can go to bed if you're tired. You have a bed right next to mine. You should use the bathroom first."

Pushing his chair back, Drake stood up. Bracing himself for the pain to come, Robin slowly rose up, doing the same with unbending his legs. They ached so much and the feeling was almost gone. Once his knees were completely unbent, they cracked loudly, making him wince. With the feeling gone in his feet, Robin started to fall backwards. Drake was suddenly there, grabbing him before he injured himself.

"Ow."

Drake helped him stand. "I might give you a pillow to use tomorrow. I should've thought of that before." Drake slowly let go. Robin was able to keep his balance, but his knees and legs were really sore. "The bathroom is over there."

Drake pointed to the other door. Having to pee, Robin slowly wobbled his way over, the pain in his knees becoming too much for him. He soon made it in and shut the door. He peed and drank cold water from the faucet after washing his hands. There was a single shower with a glass door to his left, the toilet on his right. The mirror was attached to a medicine cabinet. Robin was tempted to look through them, hopefully to find a good weapon, but he expected Drake to search him. So he washed his face with the water, dried off, and then left, the pain in his legs somewhat diminished from standing. When he stepped out, Drake was waiting for him. He patted Robin's head as he passed him to use the bathroom.

"Your bed is in the corner."

Drake shut the door behind him. Sighing, Robin slowly walked to the smaller bed, pulled the messy-made cover back, and stared at the bed. It was stark white and clean, but most importantly, soft. Longing for a moment like this in this Hell hole, Robin stepped onto the bed and instantly plopped down. By the time he was situated, he heard the toilet flush. Wrapping his arms around the white pillow, Robin held it, digging his fingers into it gently. Drake opened the door and stepped out, closing the door behind him. He paused at his desk when he saw Robin lying in his bed, an exhausted look on his face.

"What's wrong with you, pet?" Grumbling, Robin grabbed the blanket and yanked it over his head. Drake shrugged before sitting back at his desk. "Okay, good night."

Robin stared into the darkness that the blanket gave, thinking on how to break out, save Beast Boy, and return to Slade for help. Tears soon formed in his eyes when he realized how much he missed the Titans, but more importantly Slade. Despite being a jerk back when he was his apprentice, he was okay now. Robin kept hearing his voice in his head.

_I will save you._

But would he do it in time?

* * *

Robin didn't remember falling asleep that night. He especially didn't think he'd sleep so long. He almost didn't want to get up, he was so warm and comfy. A hand shaking his shoulder told him otherwise. Growling lowly, Robin slowly opened his eyes.

"Time to get up, pet." Rolling over, Robin saw Drake staring down at him. "It's past noon. Decided you deserved the rest." Drake patted his head before standing up and jumping off his mattress. Robin slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hands. "I want you to eat before taking a shower. Does rabbit sound good?" Robin wrapped his arms around his knees, looking off to the side. Drake noticed the upset look on his face. "You still haven't gotten over those damn bears?"

"You haven't the faintest _idea_ how hard it was to hear that cub calling for his mother for help," Robin muttered. "That cub didn't deserve that pain."

Drake scratched his temple. "Well it's dead now. Your friend must have put it out of its misery because it was dead when they took it out of the van." Robin's ears fell. That must have been so hard for Beast Boy to do. "Well, what do you eat? We have rabbit, fish, chicken, doesn't even have to be meat. Some of the kids are herbivores so they eat fruit and stuff."

Robin's stomach growled after hearing the selection of food. The last thing he had was toast and oatmeal for breakfast the other morning. "Fish is fine," he said quietly.

"Alright, salmon it is then," Drake said, picking up a cell phone. He flipped it open, dialed a number, and then placed it to his ear. While he ordered lunch for Robin, he got up and walked to the bathroom. He used the toilet, washed his hands and face, and then sighed. He was not looking forward to sitting on a hard floor another day. Once done, he opened the door. "Bring water as well." Drake paused as Robin stepped out and approached the other side. "No, just bring the bottle. He might drip onto the floor if I made him drink out of a bowl."

Robin felt another stab to his heart at hearing that. Once the call ended, Drake closed the phone and set it down.

"I _almost_ don't mind the floor, but a bowl? Really?"

Drake chuckled. "Oh lighten up. My special chef asked and I said no. Now grab your pillow and sit right here. You can sit on your rear this time."

"Okay."

Robin went back to his bed, grabbed his pillow, and returned to the desk. He sat down after throwing the pillow to the floor, getting into a comfier position than yesterday. His knees were bent by his sides, his hands in front of him like before. He yawned. Ten minutes passed before a knock came to the door.

"Come in," Drake said, setting a piece of paper in his OUT box. The door opened and a man carrying a tray of good smelling food came in. "Just set it in front of him."

"Yes, boss."

The man set the tray on the floor, patted a disgruntled-looking Robin on the head, and then left, closing the door behind him. Robin looked at his meal with narrowed eyes. It was a rectangular slab of salmon, cooked in a garlic marinade and covered in pepper. A bottle of water sat beside a cup of red jello. There was only a spoon.

"I'd eat the jello first," Drake said, grabbing a stapled stack of paper. "You haven't eaten in a while. I don't want you vomiting."

Robin grabbed the cup, saying, "Yes sir."

He ignored Drake patting his head while opening the cup and grabbing the spoon to eat. For the next ten minutes he ate quietly, feeling slightly better with every bite. Robin did have to admit: Drake's chef could cook. Once he was done eating, he drank his water to refresh himself.

"Would you like to shower?" Drake asked when he noticed him done. "If not, you'll take one before bed."

Robin washed his sticky hands with his water. "I will take one later, sir," he said, wiping his wet hands on his pillow.

"Okay then. Now be quiet. I have all this paper work to do."

"Yes, sir."

Robin sat on his pillow silently during the afternoon. Several times employees came in to report or give Drake extra paper work and, at one point, mail. Once or twice they pet his ears, eliciting a very quiet growl deep in his throat that no one heard. After the men left, he would scratch the one touched vigorously. The light touch made them itch. With boredom finally setting in around four, Robin's eyes were closing and his body jerked sideways towards the desk. On the next one, he actually hit his head on the corner, making him jerk awake and shake it. He heard Drake chuckle. Quickly looking around, Robin glared at him.

"Pfft, lighten up, pet." Drake set his pen down and stretched. Robin rolled his annoyed-looking eyes and looked away. Drake started looking at his mail then. If he didn't like something, he nonchalantly threw it over his shoulder, letting it hit the wall. He paused at one. "About damn time my last uncle fucking died." He ripped the postcard in half and then threw the pieces to the floor. "My stupid older brother sent it to me. Like I fucking care. He just wants everything in my family's Will."

Robin was curious now. With the pieces behind him, he reached around, picked them up, and held the torn edges next to each other to read.

_Drake,  
Uncle Brad died last Friday. We're the last two in our family. Get ready because you might be next, haha!  
Derrick_

Blinking, Robin turned the card around and saw that it was a tourist card. The tarot card of Death was the picture. Robin looked at it in annoyance. "He sounds worse than you," he muttered.

Drake tore the halves from his fingers. "He'll be coming here sometime this week I bet." He ripped it into a lot of pieces and then threw them away. He went back to his mail. "Looks like you'll have to hang out with the other kids tomorrow, pet. I have a business meeting to attend."

Robin scratched at his neck, the collar spinning around as his hand hit it. "Yes, sir."

Drake glanced at him. He stifled a laugh when Robin lifted his back foot instead to scratch his neck. "If you need to use the bathroom, it's available."

Robin lowered his leg and realized he had to pee. "Thank you, sir." Standing up, Robin entered the bathroom. He did his business and returned, sitting down. He looked at the bookcase. "Have you read all those books?"

Drake glanced up from a bill to look at them. "Maybe."

"Ever get bored of sitting in here all day?"

"Unless someone needs my assistance, I stay in here," Drake said, setting the bill down. "I get regular reports every three hours on production and behaviors. Like today for instance, one boy was allergic to the injection. The doctors waited half an hour to see if it went away on its own. Since it didn't, the boy was euthanized."

Jerking his head around, Robin shouted, "What?"

Drake snorted. "My scientists are working on a way to stop any future allergic reactions, pet. Unfortunately, some will die. Do you want them to suffer?" Robin glared at him a little while longer before jerking his head back around. Drake placed his hand on it, petting him. "I don't euthanize for the hell of it."

Robin didn't reply. He didn't care what the reason. He still hated euthanizations. When he was young in the circus, one of the elephants had to be euthanized and it saddened him. He hated the method, despite it being painless. For the rest of the day it was fairly slow and quiet. Before bed, Robin was able to shower in peace. His ears were so soaked that they couldn't stay up. They fell, dripping. Even his tail sagged. Once fully refreshed and clean, he got out, dried off, and put the new set of clothes on. It took almost seven minutes to dry his tail and ears completely. After using the bathroom and washing his face with cold water from the sink, he left and stumbled towards his bed. Drake finished eating his dinner by the time he flopped down in the warmth of the sheets. Grabbing the blanket at his feet, Robin yanked it over his head, shrouding himself in darkness. His tail wrapped around him, keeping him even warmer. A guard returned after Drake called to pick up his plate before he showered.

"For my pet's breakfast, he'll have oatmeal. It'll be good for him."

"Yes, boss."

The man left. Drake stretched and yawned before showering. He returned in clean boxers and slightly wet hair. Drying his hair, he cleaned his desk. Robin's eyes were almost fully closed when he finished. They shot open when Drake got into his bed almost directly behind him.

"Still awake, pet?" Robin grumbled. "Well, sleep well. Good night."

Robin let out a weak growl while closing his eyes. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, dreaming of nothing.

**To Be Continued…**


	17. Mother Nature Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

Robin's ear twitched violently. A strong, musky smell entered his nose. With his eyes twitching rapidly while they were closed, he heard something that he considered a rude wake-up call.

"_Ooooooooh_ Drake!"

Robin's eyes shot open. Rolling over, he flattened himself against the wall, a deep blush forming on his face at the sight before him. Some blonde woman was riding Drake while he finished his orgasm. Robin felt like he would faint. The woman fell on top of Drake, kissing him passionately. Moving his mouth away, Drake chuckled.

"Aww, you woke him up," he said, like it was no big deal that Robin had seen them fucking like jack rabbits.

The woman looked at Robin and smiled. He gulped. "So you're Drake's pet." Robin nodded numbly, forgetting that he wasn't really a pet. The woman hugged Drake. "Isn't he just the greatest guy in the world?"

Drake laughed at the look on Robin's face. "I have a feeling he hasn't seen a naked woman before." Robin glared at him. Drake looked at the woman. "I think you should leave now, Sal."

The woman smiled. "Yes, alright." The woman got up and started to dress. Once done, she turned to Robin, who still had a deep blush on his face. "It was nice to meet you, Robin."

She held her hand out to shake, but Robin gave her a 'are-you-fucking-kidding-me?' look. Smiling, she said good-bye and then left. The room was silent for a few seconds. Robin glared at Drake.

"What the fuck was that?!"

Drake snorted while getting up. Robin looked away from his nude form. "Sally is just a whore, get over it," Drake said, heading for his bathroom. "It isn't like you don't know what sex is."

"That's not the point!" Robin shouted after him right as he closed the door. The shower started a few seconds later. Growling, Robin rolled over and yanked the covers back over him. "Bastard."

Half an hour later and Drake returned, getting ready for the day. "Get up, pet. Your breakfast should be here soon."

Robin snorted. "I'm not hungry after that disgusting display," he said, his voice muffled by the blanket.

"I don't care," Drake said, walking over and taking the blanket away. Robin growled, flattening his ears down. "Oh please. You didn't even see the whole thing. You slept through it until the end there. Now get up. After you eat breakfast, you're going to one of the cages."

Drake threw the blanket onto his bed before turning around and sitting at his desk. Dan arrived a few minutes later, a bowl of warm oatmeal in his hands. He glanced at Robin, who hadn't moved while setting it on the desk.

"What's wrong with him?"

Drake waved his hand as if to brush it off. "Nothing, he's just cranky."

Dan smiled. "Yes sir."

Dan left, closing the door silently behind him. Robin soon got up, sighing. Drake handed him his breakfast and he ate rather quickly. A few minutes later and a guard with a pole in his hand entered.

"I don't care which cage he's in," Drake said. "Just stick him in one."

"Yes, boss."

The guard approached Robin, whose deep set eyes were in a small glare. He looked disdainfully at the loop as it came around his head and tightened around his neck.

"Play nice with the others, pet," Drake said as they headed out.

Robin rolled his eyes, but remained quiet. He allowed the guard to take him down the stairs and down the rows of cages. He stopped at the one with Noah in it, unlocked the cage, and forced him inside. Once the loop came off, he slammed the door shut and locked it up again. Robin looked around and was glad that there was enough room for all the teens to stand around in. Most were still asleep. His ears fell. Turning around, he sat down, drew his knees up to his chest, and stared off into space. An hour passed and some of the kids were awake. They ignored Robin. A few minutes later and a man in a business suit walked by.

"Drake is in his office, sir," one of the guards said to him.

"Thanks."

Robin watched the man walk towards the stairs out of the corner of his eye. He had an awful feeling in his gut.

"Hey, newbie." Robin looked over his shoulder. A teen with red hair dropped down from the top of the cage, a monkey tail swishing around behind him. "What are you supposed to be?"

Robin's tail wrapped around him. "A wolf."

The teen scratched his eye. "Noah says you're a mutt."

Robin snorted and then looked away. "Whatever."

The monkey boy sat down, scratching his temple vigorously. "Heard you were Drake's special pet or something."

"Drake might think that," Robin said, not really caring. "But I'm no one's pet."

The teen yawned. "I don't like it either, believe me. I have this horrible feeling I'ma be one of the next ones in some rich man's home, treating me like a freak. I'm trying to play the nice guy so that once I'm out of this cage, I can bolt. I wanna go to Africa."

"Good for you," Robin muttered, still tired. He was quiet for a while. "So, what do you do for fun in here?"

The monkey kid snorted. "Nothing. They make sure no one fights in here. Noah is the only defiant one. They're always throwing him into the "Coliseum", as Drake likes to call it."

Robin looked at him. "Noah said he could take on the snow leopard. Is that true?"

The teen shook his head. "Nah, he's still in the infirmary. He just acts tough."

"Yeah, I figured," Robin said, looking away. "Though he's probably getting strong from this. I mean, if he tries his hardest."

"Yeah, when he comes back, he's back to his fake bad ass self." The teen yawned. "Well, was nice talking to ya. I'm going back to sleep."

The monkey boy stood up and walked away. Sighing, Robin ignored anyone else wanting to bother him. He was there for an hour before Drake came by with the business man.

"I will consider your suggestion," Drake told him. "Drive safe." The man gave a curt nod and then left. Drake watched him until he was out of sight. He then turned to the cage door. Robin glanced up at him. "Have fun?"

Robin snorted. "Yeah right."

Drake just shrugged and started to unlock the door. Robin stood up and waited. It swung open and Drake let him pass. "I want to show you something. Don't try to run once we're outside."

"I'm not leaving any time soon," Robin said, following him.

Drake and Robin passed the rows of cages in silence. They reached the door. It slid open, letting the bright sunlight stream in. Robin followed close behind as they headed towards another, domed building. It was much smaller than the factory. They soon reached it. Drake typed in a code on the mechanical lock pad and the door slid open. They walked in.

"This is the Chamber," Drake said, leading Robin down the path that wound around. "Your friend is in here." Robin had a sinking feeling. They stopped in front of an open window that connected to the wired border. Inside the space was a large, round platform with Beast Boy lying on it. Guards and scientists were standing around, some working on the machines. Beast Boy was collared, hooked to wires and tubes, and loose chains held him down. Robin swallowed. "Gary, status?"

A bald man with green eyes and wearing a white coat looked at his clipboard. "We're still using the machine. He won't do it willingly. We're starting the machine again."

"Good. Once my pet sees what it does, he may be able to convince him to do it on command," Drake said.

Robin growled at him. "What are you talking about? What does the machine do to him?"

"You'll see," Drake said. "I need two guards out here."

Two of the burly men inside came out and stood behind him and Robin. He had a feeling they were for him. That made him wonder. What would happen to Beast Boy that would piss him off? Before Robin had an answer, another scientist flipped a switch and the room buzzed to life. Beast Boy groaned when electricity started to form around him, connected to the wires. He clenched his eyes and teeth tight when the bright lights of the electricity reached his body.

"GAAAAAAH!"

Robin stopped breathing. Every ten seconds, Beast Boy would cry out in pain with a different pitch with each animal he turned into. He thrashed around, trying to break out of the chains that bound him. When he changed into a bear, Robin saw the cub in his mind, crying for his mother. Fear gripped him.

"S-Stop," he whispered. Turning to Drake, Robin started shouting at him. "Stop it! Turn the machine off!" Drake glanced at him. Robin growled angrily, his fangs and claws extending. "TURN THE FUCKING THING OFF!" A guard hesitantly stepped up behind him. Drake gave a nod. The man grabbed Robin around his arms, holding him back. "Turn the fucking machine off! You goddamn bastard, fucking turn it _off_!"

Robin struggled in the guard's grip, wanting to rip Drake to shreds if he didn't listen to him. After another half minute, he turned to the window. "Turn it off."

The scientist nodded and threw down the switch. The buzzing sound slowly diminished and the electricity went off. Beast Boy was in the form of a cheetah. Unable to stay up, he fell, returning to his human self. His breathing was loud and labored. Robin could sense just how close to death he was. He stopped struggling, but continued to glare at Drake.

"I came to show you this for a reason," he said, turning to the angry teen. "The machine forces him to turn into any animal that the scientists input. It is highly painful and, if used too much, the subject will die. Convince your friend to willingly help us and he'll never have to be on this machine again. It's your decision if you help him or not."

Robin growled angrily at him, not sure what to do. He soon relaxed. The guard carefully loosened his grip. When he didn't try and attack, he released him. Turning around, Robin approached the gap, pushing Drake aside.

"Beast Boy?" The teen shuddered violently. His breathing was still labored. "Beast Boy, do as they say. If you cooperate, you don't have to go through this pain anymore. When you can, change into any animal they ask of you. If you don't, you'll be put back on this machine. Please, just listen to them. I don't want you to die because of me."

Beast Boy wouldn't open his eyes. With a shaking hand, he managed to make a thumbs up sign. It instantly fell. Tears were streaming down his face. Robin's ears fell, tears forming in his eyes.

"Well?" Drake asked.

"He'll do it," Robin muttered, feeling even more defeated now. There was a tense pause. Quickly turning and without warning, Robin punched Drake in the jaw, forcing him crashing into the floor. A guard grabbed Robin from behind. "You son of a bitch!"

Drake chuckled, which soon turned into a full blown laugh. He started to rise. "Oh, don't worry," he said, his laugh returning to a chuckle as he composed himself. "I know I'm a bastard." Grabbing Robin's collar, he yanked his face towards him to whisper in his ear. "I just don't care." Robin growled. Letting him go, he turned to a guard and asked for a pole. "Clean that boy's wounds. When his strength is back, get him to change into more animals and gather the DNA."

"Yes boss."

After looping the snare around Robin's neck, Drake ordered the guard to let go and they headed out. Robin glared at the ground, feeling absolute loathing towards everyone there. Only one thing crossed his mind:

_They're __all__ going to **pay**._

* * *

For the rest of the day, Robin had to sit on his knees on the hard floor as his punishment for punching Drake. He glared at anyone who came in, daring them to touch him. None did. It was now bed time. Robin hadn't been hungry for dinner since seeing Beast Boy in so much pain. When Drake told him he could get up, he stood without a word, used the bathroom, and got into bed. Drake sighed when he plopped down angrily. Robin glared at the wall.

"Your friend will be fine as long as he does what we say," Drake said, standing. He got ready for bed. After pulling boxers on, he went to his bed, threw Robin's blanket on top of him, and then got under his covers. He stretched and yawned. "Good night."

Drake closed his eyes. Robin moved as close to the wall as he could, wrapping the blanket around him. He continued to glare at the darkness, anger, sadness, and pain mixing into one inside him. He blinked his tears away.

_'Slade will find me_. _He will save Beast Boy and me and he'll help me stop Drake. Just wait a little longer.'_

Closing his eyes, Robin allowed his emotional exhaustion to force him into a deep sleep. The next day, he was still moody. He was able to sit on his pillow while on his knees. His legs ached, but his knees were fine. Robin was looking forward to more sleep that night. Drake's cell phone rang. Picking it up, he flipped open the lid and turned on the speaker.

"Yes, Larson?"

_"Your brother, Derreeck, is coming up, sir."_

"Thanks." Drake closed the lid and threw his phone down. "Whatever my brother does, just ignore him and he'll leave you alone."

Robin was about to ask why when the door opened, no knock beforehand. Robin glanced up. An older man that looked almost exactly like Drake, except for the hair style, stalked in, slamming the door. He had a big grin on his face. Robin looked away, not liking what he was sensing from him.

"Hey bro! Get my card?"

"Yes, Derrick, I did," Drake said with a roll of his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to check up on my baby brother's health and business, that's all."

"That is what a phone is for, dickwad; it's to call and ask."

Derrick snorted, amused. "It's easier to lie on a phone than in person, dude," he said, his grin never wavering. Robin _really_ hated this guy. "How's productivity?"

"It's going well," Drake said. "I already have offers in my book."

"That's _great_ bro," Derrick said enthusiastically. "Seriously, that's awesome. My little brother is growing up. Too bad mum and dad aren't here to see their youngest living like this."

"You know I don't need your flattery, Derrick," Drake said.

"Aww, but everyone needs flattery." Silence filled the room. Robin hadn't looked up. Derrick suddenly seemed to notice him. "Hey, who's this?"

Robin slowly looked up. Derrick crouched in front of him. Drake glanced wearily at them.

"That's my pet, Robin. I would leave him alone. He's very angry at me."

Robin's heart skipped a beat when Derrick touched his ear. It twitched. "Wow, these are real? I thought they were fake."

Drake snorted. "Yes, they're real, idiot." He turned his chair to face them. Derrick placed a hand on Robin's neck while the other ran through his hair. Drake's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Derrick-"

"He sure is a pretty thing, isn't he?"

That's when Robin snapped. "Get away from me!"

Derrick quickly stood up and back. Drake grabbed Robin's collar before he could attack him.

"You haven't tamed him yet?" Derrick asked. "Hell, I know a way to do that."

Drake managed to sit Robin back down, who growled at Derrick. "Keep your methods to your damn self, asshole," he said angrily. "And get out."

"Alright, alright, don't get your boxers all up in a bunch," Derrick said, waving his hands in front of his body in defense. "I'm going." Turning around, he walked to the door. "I'll come visit again soon."

Derrick left, slamming the door shut behind him. After a minute, Drake let the collar go. Robin flattened his hair back down and then rubbed furiously at his ears. Drake sighed.

"I'm sorry about him."

Robin shook himself, feeling sick. "That man was born from Satan."

Drake leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, he does so many illegal things that it makes me look like an angel." He started counting with his fingers with each charge. "He kidnaps, tortures, kills, steals, and rapes constantly. He's finding a way to kill me so that he gets everything from my family's Will. That would include you and everyone here. If he got a hold of you, there's no telling what he'd do."

Robin had a good feeling what _would_ happen, but he didn't want to say it out loud. "I feel gross."

Drake glanced at him and then sighed. "You can shower to get his scent off you. Just saying my brother's name leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"Thanks." Standing up, Robin walked into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. After peeing, he undressed and turned on the hot water. He stepped inside, closing the glass door behind him. Robin hung his head under the hard streams. A sigh passed him. "Hurry and find us Slade."

Robin closed his eyes and inhaled. For the next five minutes he stood under there, enjoying the water the best he could. He almost never wanted to leave it. For some reason he felt safe there. Why, he had no idea.

Robin's eyes slowly opened. The water was still hot, but so was something else. Turning his back to the shower wall beside him, he leaned against it. Swallowing, he lowered his right hand, grabbed the base of his penis, and started to stroke himself. He closed his eyes, his mind filled with nothing but darkness. It didn't stay that way for very long. As he pumped his shaft faster, colors slowly started to form in his head. Robin bit his lower lip. A strangled moan passed his teeth, but he kept the majority of it in. The colors slowly vanished in his mind then and he felt someone behind him.

_Robin…_

"S-Slade…"

Warm hands wrapped around Robin's stomach. He leaned his head back against an equally warm chest, panting and moaning. Slade kissed the side of his neck, making him shudder. Robin grinded against him slowly, getting harder each second. He felt hot air on his ear.

_I'm coming to save you, Robin. I promise._

"Ah!"

Cum splattered the glass door. Robin panted, his hot breath fogging the glass even more. His hair was matted down on his forehead, water and sweat drops rolling down his face. Feeling weak in the knees, he slid down the wall, wrapping his arms behind his head. The jets rained down on him. His tail lay completely still in the water on the floor.

_I will save you._

"I know," Robin whispered. "I'm waiting."

Robin walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist. Drake pointed to the bed, where clean clothes were waiting.

"Took you a while."

Robin crouched by the bed, grabbing his boxers. "I couldn't stop feeling like leeches were crawling into my skin," he said, standing.

"Ah."

After getting dressed and relatively dry, Robin sat back in his spot, yawning. Drake patted his head twice before resuming work.

* * *

"Can I ask you something, sir?" Robin asked the next day.

"Yeah, just one second," Drake said, finishing his paper work. He set the last page in his OUT box and then turned to Robin. "Listening."

Robin looked at him. "What were you considering after that business man came?"

Drake sat back in his chair and thought about it. "Oh, he had an interesting suggestion actually. He thought about breeding to make mixed species. He thinks I could bring more money in if I made the kids breed."

"If I may say, they're too young to be having sex," Robin said, hating the idea instantly.

Drake chuckled. "That didn't stop you."

Robin snorted. "I can't reproduce with a man."

Drake shook his head in amusement. "Well, it was just a suggestion. I may sweep it under the rug and just see if I can mix different DNAs together."

Robin scratched his neck. "So how much do you sell them for?"

"Well, depending on age and species, usually a thousand to ten thousand dollars," Drake said. "Dog and cat humans sell for less since you can get cats and dogs pretty much anywhere. We make a bunch of them. So far we have one hundred and fifty cats and one hundred dog humans. I've sold about thirty so far."

Robin looked away. "I heard that some kids were transferred from police stations." He brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. "But they can't all have come from there, right? Where'd you get them?"

Drake placed his hand on Robin's head, petting him as he spoke. "Some were abandoned, several of them were orphans, and the rest were reported dead or missing. One or two were kidnapped."

Robin growled then. "Great, like I wanted to hear that. They're still humans. Don't you feel any remorse for them?"

"No," Drake said bluntly. "I'm a greedy bastard. I do admit the ones getting euthanized is hard, but that's mainly because that's one less paycheck. I don't care where they end up, whether they go to wonderful, nice people or to bad ones. I keep a few books with all my sales. I have the addresses, their names, age, what price, and who they went to and their occupation. No one cares about an abandoned or orphaned child anyway, so no one would miss them."

Robin pulled his head away. "A lot of people would find this wrong. They're just kids."

Drake just shrugged. "Like I said, I only really care about the money, pet. No one in the world could change my mind. Besides, since we're out in the middle of nowhere, the authorities can't find us. We're completely hidden from the radar."

"So the only way to shut it down is if someone found out and did something about it, right?" Robin asked.

"Exactly." Robin's eyes narrowed. That's what he had to do then: find a way to tell the authorities, like the government, what was happening, and setting all the kids free. If he was right, and Slade was coming, then he could help them get out of this mess that he caused. Suddenly, Drake's cell phone rang. He picked it up. "Yes?"

_"Sir, someone made a last minute appointment to see you."_

"Okay, thank you, Larson. Send up a guard to take Robin to a cage." Drake hung up the phone and set it down. "Gotta get up, pet. A last minute meeting with someone came up."

Robin stood up and waited at the door. A guard came up with a snare. He looped it around his neck and then led him downstairs. Robin followed, already used to this treatment. They passed a fat man in a business suit on the way to Noah's cage. The hair on the back of Robin's hair went up, making him shudder. There was something about that man…

"Well, look who's here." The cage door closed behind Robin. He glared at Noah. "Doesn't find you special anymore?"

Robin snorted. "Go bother someone else."

Turning around, Robin plopped down. Noah smirked. "Did he fuck you yet?"

Robin jerked his head around, looking at Noah in confusion. "What?" he asked, his eyes wide.

Noah snickered. "Well, his fag brother likes little boys, so Drake would too, wouldn't he?" Robin glared at him. "Well then why else are you special than a good fuck, huh?"

Growling angrily, Robin turned and pounced, pinning a surprised Noah underneath him. "Shut up!"

Noah laughed briefly. "What other reason is there? I mean, he's a dominant male and he's keeping your friend hostage. You'd roll over for him with your dick exposed, wouldn't you?"

Gritting his teeth and growling, Robin was about to punch him in the face when a voice spoke. "Noah, shut up, please." Robin looked up. A fifteen year old girl with short red hair and black eyes stepped up to the two boys. She had a thin, black tail down her back. "Please, get off him. He's still wounded from his last Coliseum battle."

Robin stared softly at her for a second before lowering his hand and standing up. Stepping back, he held his hand out to her. "I'm-"

"Yes, I know who you are," the girl said with a smile. Noah started to stand when she took Robin's hand. "You're Robin, from the Teen Titans. I'm from Jump City too. I'm Rosie."

"Hi, Rosie," Robin said, ending the shake. "What are you exactly?"

"Red-headed Basilisk. Which is why I have red hair. It used to be brown. And Noah is a jaguar."

"Yeah, I know," Robin said. "That's probably why he hates me."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock."

"Shut up, Noah," Rosie said with a small glare. "He's just like you and me. He was kidnapped and turned into one of us."

"Well, the events are the other way around," Robin said.

"Still, you're in the same mess," Rosie said. "And special or not, Drake is treating you badly."

"Yeah." Robin sat down. "But, if I'm right, someone I know is on his way to help me. I plan on helping everyone here since it's pretty much my fault for this mess."

Noah snorted. "So I should be kicking your ass for this then."

Robin sighed. "Like you could."

"And you can't," Rosie said. "I've seen the Titans fight and Robin kicks major butt. You suck anyway."

"Shut up!"

Robin shook his head in disappointment. "You two are strange."

Rosie chuckled. "Yeah, we kinda are. Oh well. I'm the only one who can tolerate Noah and his bragging."

"Hey!"

Robin laughed softly. "Someone has to."

"Well fuck you guys then," Noah said, turning his back on them. "I'ma nap. Later, mutt."

Noah walked away a few minutes before Drake returned. The business man was with him. "Go ahead and choose."

Robin stood, standing at the corner of the cage. He was starting to feel like he was in an animal shelter or pound now. The business man glanced at him. Robin glared back, not liking his scent. Rosie looked shy and she dared not look at him. The man then started looking right at her. Sensing this, Rosie moved behind Robin, holding onto him.

"The girl behind that boy is the right age," the man said. "Men like red-heads."

"Yes, that is Rosie, a red-headed Basilisk," Drake said. "She's been fully tested and she poses no threat to humans."

While the two men talked, Robin turned to Rosie, who looked scared. "I don't like him. He reeks of something. I'm not sure what."

Growling low, Robin turned back to Drake and the man. "Hey, Tubby." Drake stopped mid-sentence. The two men turned to Robin, who was glaring. "What exactly is it you do?"

"Now, now, pet, it isn't nice to call people names," Drake said with a stern look. "And it is none of your _business_."

"She's my friend," Robin said angrily, ignoring him. "What do you want with her?"

Gritting his teeth, Drake turned and called for a few guards. The business man smirked.

"Don't worry, boy, she'll be taken care of. If I abuse her too much, no one would want her. Though most men prefer weaklings."

Rosie made a strange hiss sound at hearing those words. Tears streamed down her face. "No! Please, pick someone else!" she pleaded when a guard started to unlock the gate.

Rosie stood behind Robin, holding onto him for dear life. He growled. "I won't let you take her."

A few guards entered the cage. One grabbed Robin's collar and threw him away from Rosie. She cowered back when another jerked a snare towards her head. Robin stood up, extending his claws. The guard that shoved him stood in his way as the girl was pulled towards the door.

"I am sorry for my pet's behavior, sir," Drake told the man. "I have yet to _tame him_," he added, shooting Robin a glare.

"It is alright," the man said. "I'm taking the girl whether he wants me to or not."

"Yes, yes, of course."

The guard handed the snare to the fat man. Rosie cowered, but didn't try breaking away. She was usually strong and unafraid, but now, she was just a scared little girl. Robin growled, knowing that the sex trafficker didn't care. The man started pulling her towards the front door.

"I won't stand by and let you take her!"

Before anyone could react, Robin roundhouse kicked the guard in front of him, knocking him back into the cage wall. He burst through the door before another guard could lock it, knocking him over. Sliding on his feet sideways, Robin stood up straight and was about to chase after them.

"Hey, fat ass!" Noah appeared behind Robin on his left. The business man turned around to look at them. Noah growled, his eyes narrowed in a heated glare. "Step one foot outside that door, and I'll kill you."

The business man smirked and snorted. "Yes, I'm sure you will," he said, clearly not believing him. He turned back around and started walking. "You are nothing but a stupid little boy."

Noah snarled and tried to chase after them, but a guard looped a snare around his neck and yanked him back. Robin gritted his fangs together as they extended. Growling, he positioned his joints and then chased after them on all fours. He swerved in and out of guards that arrived to try and grab him. The man and Rosie made it to the door, where a sleek black car was waiting. Rosie was quickly shoved into the back seat. The man got in and ordered his driver to step on it, knowing Robin was after them.

"Get back here!"

Robin burst through the door, ran after the car, and took a giant leap. Landing on the trunk, he ran over the top and spun around in mid-air to land on the hood. The driver's eyes widened in surprise. Growling, Robin started scratching at the glass.

"Get him off my car!"

Rosie watched as Robin tried to get in, hope filling her heart. Maybe she'd be saved? Her eyes widened. "No! Robin!"

The driver had swerved, an unsuspecting Robin sliding off the car. He rolled across the dirt ground a few times before jumping up and continuing his chase. The car sped up, a cloud of dust behind it. Robin tried to catch up, but he was losing breath from the hard run and dust. He tried to press on faster, but he tripped over his own feet and fell, crashing into the ground. Landing on his stomach, he pushed himself up with his arms, jerking his head up. His eyes widened.

"ROSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

The car was no longer visible due to the dust cloud behind it. Still panting, Robin stood up, staring after it. Not far away, Drake was running towards him.

"Robin!"

Spinning around, Robin tackled Drake to the ground, pinning him down beneath him, growling. Anguish covered his face and tears formed in his eyes. "You bastard, she's going to get raped over and over again! She's just a little girl! You helped ruin her life!"

Drake quickly forced his palm into Robin's chin, forcing his head back. Getting one leg free, he kicked him off. Robin crashed into the ground, growling. Drake stood up and snorted, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

"We've been over this before. It doesn't matter to me where they go. And you shouldn't either."

Robin pushed his body off the ground with his hands. He growled at him from his fallen form. "It _does_ matter! They're kids for Christ sakes! Don't you know what sex traffickers do?!" Drake didn't reply and his expression didn't change. "They drug children and enslave them for sex with vile men! They don't deserve that! THEY'RE BETTER OFF DEAD!"

"Do you honestly think I care?" Drake asked, his tone of voice giving away the answer. Robin growled lightly at him, not knowing what to say. He looked away, his ears falling. His claws dug into the dirt as he curled his hands into fists. "Get up. We're done talking about this."

Turning on his heel, Drake headed back for his factory. Robin stared at the ground in anger and anguish. Unclenching his hands, he stood up and followed him, vowing to save the ones still locked up and those that were sold away. But first, he had to get rid of the head of the problem: Drake.

**To Be Continued…**


	18. Mother Nature Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

*shields self from rotten tomatoes* Also, I decided to post early due to Thanksgiving Thursday. Chapter 19 will update normally the week after this one. We only have 3 more to go too! Love ya, bye!

**SladinForever**

* * *

The next day, Robin was quiet as he sat by Drake's desk. His ears stayed down in a forward position and his tail lay flat on the floor. His brow was furrowed deeply, anguish evident in his eyes. Some people that came in had pet his head, which he ignored. Despite only knowing Rosie for fifteen minutes, he felt like they had been friends since they were babies. Was this what they meant when they said humans and animals could co-exist together? Despite the different species? Robin desperately wanted to think that.

"We now have almost every DNA of every animal in the world thanks to that green kid," Danny said, reporting to Drake about production. "He's exhausted though. We only need about a hundred more."

Drake was silent momentarily, thinking. "Let him rest for twenty-four hours. Start working on getting the DNA we do have into the serums."

"Yes boss."

"Also, how many hunters have returned with more orphans? I need to know if we need to start going to other countries in the next few weeks."

"Two sects returned yesterday," Danny said. "One group managed five and the other three. We're still waiting for the last three sects to arrive before sending them back out."

"Alright, thanks, Dan," Drake said. "You should get some rest. You've been working very hard."

Danny smiled. "You're welcome boss. And thank you." Dan took a step back and was about to turn and leave when he glanced at Robin, who was sitting quietly on his pillow. He looked back at Drake. "Is there something wrong with him, boss?"

Robin blinked. Drake glanced at him. "He'll be alright."

Swallowing, Dan stepped towards Robin. He didn't move or look up. "C-Can…Can I pet him?"

Drake chuckled softly. "Oh, I think so. He hasn't snapped at anyone today."

Nodding, Danny found a new courage. He stepped up to Robin right as his tail wrapped around him. As slow as possible, he moved his hand towards his head. Sensing the hesitation, Robin's ears slowly rose up and then turned backwards. A small growl formed in his throat and the pitch started to rise. Danny stopped, his fingertips just inches from Robin's forehead. He swallowed.

"There's a difference between you and them." Danny's eyes widened when Robin looked up at him with a deadly glare. "What's the matter, you big chicken?"

Danny stared at Robin, dumbstruck for a few seconds. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and didn't hesitate this time to place his hand on his head and press down. Robin continued to glare at Danny, but it softened incredibly. When he realized he wouldn't try biting him, Danny opened his eyes slowly and then moved his hand back. Robin watched him pet his head quietly, his angry glare turning into a tired one.

"Well, see you tomorrow, boss," Danny said once he was done, a smile back on his face.

"Good night, Dan."

Nodding, Danny turned around and left. Robin's body relaxed and his tail fell limp on the floor. "That kid is a big fat chicken," he muttered.

Drake continued to stare down at him, not saying a word. After a while, he looked away, picked his pen back up, and worked on paper work. Silence filled the room again. A little while later, after a scientist came in, Drake moved back a few inches and opened a desk drawer. He pulled out a small black, plastic box with a metal band connected to the sides.

"I wasn't going to do this, but after what you did to Danny, I'm reconsidering."

Robin glanced at him and saw the box. He then looked away, closing his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered.

Snorting softly, Drake attached the box to Robin's collar. He pushed a button, which made the band close around it. There was a satisfying click as the ends locked together.

"If you so much as bark, snarl, growl, or try to bite someone, the box will know and you will receive a small electrical shock. I wouldn't even dare to snort at me since you have the tendency to do that."

Yes, Robin would've snorted at that moment, but he was too tired to or cared. For the remainder of the day he didn't speak or look at anyone. Once it was time for bed, he got up right away, used the bathroom, and then got into bed. Curling up in a tight ball, Robin reached back to grab his blanket and pull it over his body.

_'Slade, hurry up,' _he thought bitterly.

Closing his eyes, Robin drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Derrick, what are you doing back here?"

Robin's ear twitched.

"I wanted to let you know that I will be returning to my ex's place today."

Robin's eyes slowly fluttered open. He remained still, listening to Drake and Derrick's conversation.

"Again, you should've just called, idiot," Drake said, obviously not happy to see his brother again.

"I wanted to say a proper good-bye, wish you luck, and hug ya, that's all, little bro," Derrick said, sounding hurt.

Robin's tail wrapped tightly around him. He could sense that he was simply faking it for some reason. But why?

"Okay, fine," Drake said, standing.

Right as he was about to walk up to Derrick, the door burst open and a security guard came in.

"Sir, sorry to bother you, but this is urgent," he said frantically. "Some of the kids escaped."

Cursing under his breath, Drake rushed for the door, saying, "Just stay here and I'll be back for that good-bye."

Drake slammed the door shut behind him. Swallowing, Robin pretended to be asleep. Derrick, meanwhile, smirked as he sat in his brother's chair. He looked around the room.

"Once I stab and kill my brother after he returns, all of this will be mine," he said out loud. Robin rolled his eyes. "I will be selling those brats for way more than what he is selling them for and become the richest man in the world. It's so close, I can taste it." Robin growled. He suddenly yelped, making Derrick jump in surprise. "Pet, is that you?"

Rubbing his pained neck after the shock from the collar, Robin threw the blanket off his head and sat up, glaring at Derrick, who was looking at him. He saw a long-bladed knife on Drake's desk.

"If anyone is to kill that bastard, it'll be me."

Derrick smirked. "You really _are_ a bad pet." He started to stand, pushing the chair back. "If you belonged to me already, you would be begging at my feet." Robin maneuvered up onto his feet, one hand in front of him. Derrick stepped up in front of him to where he had to crane his head up to see him. "Drake is a damn softy. The most pain he'd induce is that box around your neck. I, on the other hand, have far better, more sufficient methods."

"You can kiss my ass, asshole," Robin said angrily, ready to attack him.

"Kiss it?" Derrick asked. He suddenly reached forward, grabbing the collar around Robin's neck. He continued to glare at him. He flinched slightly when his other hand moved through his hair. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'd rather fuck it instead. You see, fear and pain is the only method to get brats like you to behave. Love and praise for doing something right? Whoever came up with that was an idiot."

Derrick shoved Robin backward, making him fall. Falling to his knees, he reached for his ankle. Growling, Robin tried to kick him, only to get shocked again.

_'Dammit, I can't fight back.' _Did Robin have the worst luck or what? Unless- "You know I can't fight back without getting shocked!"

Derrick chuckled darkly as he pulled Robin towards him by the foot. "That's right," he said, unzipping his pants. "Drake isn't the only one who has nano-bit tech at his disposal. I brought a bug with me the first day I came. Now, going to roll over for me, pet?"

Robin glared at him. "Over my dead body."

Derrick smirked. "Sorry, don't fuck corpses." He forced Robin onto his stomach and then hovered over him, feeling up his leg. "I'll be taking your virginity now, brat."

Robin let out a short laugh. "This will be my second time, asshole. Unless your brother comes back."

"Believe me, I set the kids loose to get ready for when my brother returned," Derrick said, grabbing Robin's shorts and boxers by his hips. "I'll be done with you by the time he gets back. Then I'll kill him and fuck you again."

Robin was glaring at the wall, wishing he could attack or call for help. He knew it was useless. So he stayed still and relaxed, knowing it would be over before he knew it. Despite the situation, Robin was unafraid. He would be fine.

_'As long as he doesn't have any STDs,' _he thought. "You do know I'm not afraid of a bastard like you," Robin said.

Derrick lowered his garments slowly, saying, "You should be." Robin clenched his eyes shut when he ran his hands over his pale flesh. Derrick smirked while caressing him. Robin's tail was wrapped firmly around his waist now. "That thing better not get in the way or I'll cut it off."

"Don't worry. It wants to strangle you later," Robin said, trying to ignore the light touches on his ass cheeks. If he kept Derrick talking, Drake would return in time. "Are you going to just fondle me the whole time?"

Derrick smirked. "Ah, that's right. I almost forgot that I'm going to rape you. I'll try my hardest to make it hurt despite you doing this once before."

Robin bit back a retort. As long as he stayed relaxed, it wouldn't be so bad. Drake wouldn't take very long anyway, he assumed. Robin hoped anyway. He suddenly gritted his teeth, Derrick's blunt tip entering him harshly.

"Bastard," he muttered.

Derrick hit him upside the head. "Hey, you don't hear me calling you a whore, now, do you?"

Robin let out a short laugh again. "A whore? Like I sell myself to bastards like you. Besides, there's only one man for me and if I don't kill you, then he will."

Derrick dug his nails into his hair, gripping it tight. Robin yelped. "Stop talking, you little fag." Robin dug his nails into the sheets, bracing himself for when Derrick forced his head into the mattress and started pounding into him. He thought this wouldn't be hurtful like the first time when Slade used lubrication, but boy was he wrong. Derrick was dry as hell and fully erect. This was starting to look bad. "N-Now this is how y-you discipline a bad p-pet."

Robin was starting to have trouble breathing. His tail wrapped itself tightly around him, like it was reassuring him it would be over soon. His right ear turned in the direction of the door. Outside at the bottom of the stairs, Drake was talking to the guard that had retrieved him.

"Make sure you find anything amiss. If and when you do, contact me immediately."

"Yes, boss."

Nodding, Drake started up the stairs, the guard turning around and walking away. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. He soon made it to the door, reaching for the handle. "Derrick, I'm-DERRICK!"

Drake had opened the door and saw his brother pounding hard into Robin, who was growling and getting an electric shock. Running up to him, he grabbed Derrick's shoulder with both hands and managed to pull him away. Derrick crashed into the desk, the knife sliding across the surface. Lifting his head, Robin gasped in air.

"Hehe, I w-was just teaching him a l-lesson," Derrick said, trying to stand. Drake was glaring angrily down at him. "Pain is-"

Shaking in rage, Drake yanked Derrick to his feet and then pushed him towards the door. "GET OUT!"

Robin groaned, his eyes clenched shut and his stomach quivering as he breathed. Derrick pulled his pants up.

"Oh come on!"

"Don't you "come on" me you bastard!" Drake yelled, pushing him towards the door. "Get out of here!"

"Okay! Fine!" Growling, Derrick turned around, yanked open the door more and then stepped out, slamming it behind him. He started down the stairs. "I was only doing you a favor, dumbass."

Derrick kicked a cage door on his way towards the door. Noah glared after him. Meanwhile, back in Drake's office, he was crouched by Robin's side.

"Are you alright?"

Robin slowly rolled over, groping his boxers. "I'm going to be," he said, pulling them up. He gasped in pain, quickly rolling back onto his stomach. "Sh-Shit…"

Drake took the shock box off his collar and then examined his neck. It was bruised and red. Drake took that off too, moving it away carefully. "I'll bring in my private doctor to examine you," he said, moving towards his desk. "There's no telling what kind of diseases my brother has." Drake set the collar and box down before grabbing his cell phone and flipping the lid. He pushed one of his speed dial numbers, placing it to his ear. There was a few seconds of silence. "Larson, there's two things I need you to do, in this order. Send out one of the sniper hunters to shoot and kill my brother before he leaves. Then, I need Dr. Talon sent up to my office."

"_Yes, sir. May I ask why?"_

Drake glared. "He raped Robin."

"…_I will send zem out right away."_

Without so much as a good-bye, Drake slapped the lid down before dropping it onto his desk. Returning to Robin's side, he carefully picked him up and moved him towards the empty space in between his desk and the beds. He set him down gently before removing his pants.

"I never should have left you alone with him," Drake said, angry at himself for being so stupid. He set Robin's blanket down on him after retrieving it.

"Now you care?"

Drake snorted, sitting down next to him. "I may not care about the ones downstairs, but it doesn't mean I don't care about something." He leaned back against his desk. "You're my special pet. I wouldn't want you getting hurt any time I feel like it. I only use pain if you do something wrong or bad. Other than that, I leave you be."

Robin lowered his head, closing his eyes. "Whatever."

A minute later, a tall, thin woman with long black hair and gray eyes behind a pair of glasses entered, a black bag in her hand. "What happened?" she asked, crouching in front of Robin. "Larson said he was raped."

"That's right," Drake replied. "I want him tested for every STD and rid of any pain he may have."

"Alright, let me check him out." Standing back up, Dr. Talon walked around to stand by Robin's rear. "Just hold still." Opening her bag, Dr. Talon pulled out sterile gloves and put them on. Grabbing his boxers, she pulled them down. Robin thought of something else while she pulled his cheeks apart. He flinched when she touched his slightly red hole. "I'm going to have to open it up to see the damage. Try to hold still." Robin only nodded. The doctor looked at Drake. "Grab some swabs, plastic tubes, and the cream from my bag."

Nodding, Drake grabbed her bag and pulled it towards him. While Dr. Talon tried opening Robin up gently, he grabbed the equipment and set it down. She asked for one of the cotton swabs on the long stick. He handed one to her. After telling Robin to just relax, she slowly pushed the swab into his rectum and gently moved it around. He hissed in pain. After pulling it out, Drake handed her a tube. She stuck the swab inside and then capped it. She took a few samples before applying the cream inside and out.

"I-Is it supposed to be cold?" Robin asked, clearly not liking the sensation.

"Yes, it means it's working," Dr. Talon said, grabbing her supplies and putting them away. "It will be healed in a day or two." She stood up, grabbing the tubes from Drake. "I wouldn't make him sit for a while. He needs rest. If any problems occur, let me know."

Drake nodded. "Thanks, Dr. Talon. Once you have the results, tell me."

Nodding, Dr. Talon left, closing the door carefully behind her. Robin sighed.

"She's nice."

Drake stood up. "Yeah. She's the only doctor I trust for you and me." Drake went over to Robin's bed, grabbed his pillow, and brought it to him. He carefully rolled over, wincing. "Don't move too much." Drake gave him his pillow before running his hand through his hair. "Thirsty?"

Robin grabbed his pillow, holding it as he rested his head down. "Water." Standing up, Drake went to his phone and picked it up. "Just because you are being nice to me, doesn't mean I have forgiven you for all the other crap."

"That's nice," Drake said sarcastically. He pushed speed dial. "I need a cold bottle of water." Drake snapped the phone shut and then sat down, grabbing the knife. "So he was going to stab me with this huh?" Sighing, he put it in his desk drawer. "Bastard." Robin didn't reply. Instead, he closed his eyes, feeling tired. A few minutes later and Danny walked in. "Give the water to Robin."

"Yes, boss." Danny crouched in front of him, placing the cold bottle of water by his head. "By the way, I saw Derrick by his car. He had a bullet in his head."

Drake snorted. "That's because I had him killed."

Danny ran his hand in between Robin's ears. "Oh." Robin growled lowly at him. Danny looked at him, smiling. "Hey, I'm not being a "big chicken" like you called me yesterday."

Jerking his head away from his hand, Robin closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

"Danny, get going," Drake said. Danny looked up at him. "My pet needs sleep."

Danny stood up straight and mock saluted. "Yes sir!"

Danny left, closing the door quietly behind him. Grabbing the blanket, Robin yanked it over his body and tried to sleep. Drake stared at him for a few seconds before grabbing a pen and getting to work.

* * *

Drake's cell phone rang the next afternoon. Robin was lying on his bed, his eyes half closed in exhaustion. He felt so drained. Drake flipped the lid and placed it to his ear.

"Yes? …Are you sure? …Where is he?" Robin turned his head slightly to see him. A look of disappointment was on Drake's face. "Okay, get Dr. Talon down there and make him as comfortable as possible. …Robin? He's right here. …No, after he rests for a while, Robin and I will be down there. Just keep a close eye on him and report to me every two hours. …Thanks."

Drake clapped the lid shut, setting the cell down gently. Robin slowly rolled over to sit up. "What's going on?"

Drake didn't look at him right away. Robin didn't like the look on his face when he did. "Your friend is dying."

It took Robin a few seconds for his brain to register. His mouth slowly fell open a bit, his eyes filling with anguish. Slowly lowering his gaze, he lifted his hands to his face, the claws growing out. After a few seconds, he clenched his hands into fists and squeezed his eyes tight, a growl emanating from his throat. Tears formed behind his eyelids.

"No… No, no, no, no, NO!"

Crying out in frustration, Robin started hitting and kicking the wall. Drake watched him.

"Dr. Talon is good at what she does," he said loudly over the noise. "She could very well save his life. He's being treated right now."

Robin hit the wall with the bottoms of his fists before placing them there and holding his head in between them. Tears streamed down his face. "I-It's all m-my…f-fault! H-He's dying b-because of m-me!" Clenching his eyes tightly, Robin hit the wall with his left fist. "It's not _fair_!"

"Life wasn't meant to be," Drake said. "Nothing anyone can do about it. Throwing a fit isn't going to help anything. Dr. Talon will do everything she can to save him. Besides, you heroes are stubborn."

Robin stared at the wall, his forehead resting against it. He took a deep breath and then let it out. "I want to see him."

"Later." The door opened. Danny came in with the mail. He set it on the desk before glancing at Robin. "_Thank you_, Danny."

Danny jumped. "Sorry boss. Need anything else?"

"No."

Danny left, closing the door gently behind him. Sniffing, Robin moved away from the wall and laid down, tears leaking out of his eyes. Drake stared at him for a few more seconds before looking at his mail. Every two hours he would get a call. Around five, he got a final call. Drake glanced at Robin, who had fallen asleep a while ago from emotional exhaustion.

"I will be down there in a couple of minutes." Drake clicked the lid shut on the phone. Setting it down, he walked onto his bed and crouched behind Robin. He gently shook his shoulder. "Robin, get up." Growling in his half-conscious sleep, Robin's eyes fluttered open. "Robin, I have news on your friend's condition."

With how softly Drake spoke, Robin knew the news was bad. He blinked. "He's not going to make it…is he?"

"…No." Fresh, stinging tears formed in Robin's eyes. "His pulse is very weak. Dr. Talon did all she could to save him. His heart is about to give out. I'm going to let you see him."

Sniffing, Robin slowly sat up and stood, his tail wrapping around his waist and his ears laying down flat. He nodded, queuing that he was ready. Drake headed for the door, Robin following behind him. They left and headed down the walkway to the front door. Noah was by the cage door, sitting against it. When he saw Robin, he turned to him.

"Where are you going?"

"Shut the fuck up, Noah," Drake snapped. Noah growled but said nothing. They soon reached the front door. A guard opened it and they stepped into the dim twilight. They headed through the compound, heading for a building with a red cross over the door. Entering, Drake went to the receptionist desk. "Beast Boy's room."

The woman checked her chart. "Room five."

"Thanks." He motioned for Robin to follow with his hand. They walked down a hall, walked past four doors, and stopped in front of a fifth one. Drake stood off to the side. "I'll wait out here for you."

Sniffing, Robin grasped the handle and pushed down on it. He opened the door and stepped in, gently closing it behind him. Under a large window that looked out into the forest that sat behind the buildings, Beast Boy was lying in a bed, an IV attached to his arm. The heart monitor showed that his pulse and heart beat were very low. Swallowing back a shaky sob, Robin walked to the edge of the bed and grabbed a chair. He sat down and stared at Beast Boy, whose eyes were closed.

"Hey, you awake?"

Beast Boy turned his head. He had trouble opening his eyes. A weak smile formed on his face when he saw it was Robin. "R-Robin, I-I'm sorry," he said, his voice very soft and quiet. "I-If only we hadn't…k-kicked you o-out b-because of th-that accident." Tears formed in his eyes. "I-I know I'm d-dying. I can f-feel my life slipping a…away. I-If only R-Raven were…h-here."

Beast Boy closed his eyes, unable to keep them open. Robin grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I should be saying s-sorry to you." He sniffed. "I-I screwed up. This would never have h-happened if I hadn't b-been caught in Ivy's trap. I w-wouldn't have hurt you and this wouldn't have happened. It…I-It's all my f-fault."

"D-Don't…s-say that," Beast Boy said weakly. "I-It's no one's f-fault. It i-isn't. Y-You're a great…f-friend."

A sob escaped Robin at hearing that. He placed his head on the edge of the bed, holding Beast Boy's hand with both his own and squeezing it. His shoulders shook as he cried. He could feel death knocking on Beast Boy's door and there was nothing he could do to stop it from entering. His friend was going to die.

"I-I don't w-want you to d-die! Please don't die!" The heart monitor suddenly started beeping fast and sending a signal out into the hall. Drake stopped anyone from going in, telling them it would be useless. The heart monitor soon flat-lined, making Robin let out a loud cry of despair. Beast Boy's head turned to the side as the rest of his strength disappeared. "Beast Boy! I'm so sorry!"

As Robin continued to sob and cry, Drake turned to Dr. Talon. "I'm going to get Robin out. Then go in and take care of the body."

"Yes Drake."

Nodding, he entered the room, closing the door softly behind him. Robin was shaking as he cried. Drake stepped up beside him. "Dr. Talon is going to take care of his body. We're going to bury him with the other children that had to be euthanized. Just be glad he's not suffering anymore."

Robin willed himself to calm down enough to talk. "I-I want to b-bury him s-somewhere e-else."

"And where would you suggest?"

Lifting his head, Robin looked out the window, tears streaming down his face. He saw the forest beyond. "Out th-there." Robin sniffed. "He a-always loved n-nature. And I-I'll bury him m-myself."

Drake was quiet momentarily. "Someone will get you a shovel." It took Robin a while to release Beast Boy's lifeless hand. Drake motioned for Dr. Talon and nurses to enter. "My pet is going to bury him out there." He pointed out the window. "Bring him out."

"Yes Drake," Dr. Talon said.

While they took care of that, Robin and Drake walked out of the infirmary. Danny was there and saw the tears. He looked concerned.

"What's the matter?"

"Just go get a shovel, Dan," Drake said softly. "Come behind the infirmary. We'll be there."

Robin was making his way around the building. Danny glanced at him.

"Yes sir."

He ran off to get a shovel. Drake followed after Robin into the forest. Stopping in a clearing, Robin found a soft patch, crouched before it, and started using his hands to make a good-sized circle while he waited for the shovel. Danny soon arrived, handing Drake the shovel. He stepped up beside Robin, forcing the shovel's tip into one edge of the circle. Standing up, Robin moved behind it, held the handle with both hands, and then quickly jumped onto the edges that stuck out a few inches from the handle. The shovel sank into the ground. He repeated the process around the whole perimeter of the circle.

Dr. Talon and a few guards arrived as Robin started yanking dirt out of the ground. Two were carrying Beast Boy's dead body on a stretcher. For the next ten to fifteen minutes, Robin dug out his five-foot grave, getting dirt and grime on his body once he was inside the hole. After another ten minutes, he threw the shovel out and then jumped up, digging his claws into the dirt. He soon pulled himself up and out, standing. Everyone stepped away a few feet as Robin went to Beast Boy's body and picked him up. His limp body felt ten times heavier than normal, but with his new enhanced strength, Robin was able to hold him without worrying about dropping him. Turning back around, he walked to the edge of the grave. The wind picked up, blowing gently through his hair. Robin stared down at Beast Boy's peaceful-looking face, his expression blank and his eyes narrowed. His tears had stopped long ago.

"You will _always_ be with me, my brother."

Slowly crouching, Robin carefully lowered Beast Boy into the hole, not wanting to just dump him in there. After putting him in a comfortable position, he stood up, grabbed the shovel, and then started filling the hole back up. Halfway done, the sun was disappearing, shrouding the clearing in post-twilight light. When Robin was almost finished, darkness ascended upon them. After patting the pack of dirt down, he stood up, dropped the shovel, and then stared down at the grave, his mind numb. Flashes of the past filled Robin's mind, showing everything he and Beast Boy had done since the Teen Titans formed.

Robin remembered the first day when the little green teen had met him, calling him 'sir' like an obnoxious toddler and annoying him to no end. He remembered the days when Beast Boy would train with him, attacking as large animals, such as a bear and a tiger. He remembered the night when Raven wouldn't admit she was afraid and Beast Boy had jumped on top of him in fright, holding on tight. He remembered the few summers they had where they would play volleyball and go swimming, Robin picking Beast Boy to be on his team every once in a while while Cyborg took Starfire. He also remembered the day he had returned and he and Beast Boy both knew what it was like to fly through the air without a care in the world. Robin remembered everything and he knew he always would. He locked those memories away, keeping them in a safe place so that when he felt sad or upset, he could go back and unlock them again.

For now and forever, Beast Boy and Robin would forever be as one, two brothers under the sun.

_I will always love you, my brother, under the sun._

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

The last two lines are related to the song Brothers Under the Sun from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron, for those disclaimer-obsessed people. Its a good, but sad-ish song


	19. Mother Nature Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

I'm sorry to all the people I made cry with last week's chapter ;w; I hope you like this one!

* * *

A few days had come and gone since Beast Boy passed away. Robin hadn't eaten on any of those days. He would sit by Drake's desk, his knees drawn to his chest with his arms on top as he buried his head in them. His tail lay limp around his thigh, never moving. Drake ignored him as he worked, even leaving him alone to make a sweep of everything on occasion. If clients came in wanting to buy, Robin would ignore them and vice versa. It seemed everyone knew about what happened. The next day, Danny came in with a few stacks of stapled papers. He told Drake what they were before setting them down on his desk. Robin currently had his head turned to the side on his arms as he stared off into space, the slow, gentle movement of his back indicating that he was breathing.

"Anything else, boss?" Danny asked.

Drake shook his head. "That is all, thanks."

Danny nodded and then turned to Robin. Smiling softly, he walked around to stand in front of him and then crouched. Drake watched cautiously as he stared at Robin's blank, depressed face. Without a word or a second of hesitation, Danny wrapped his arms around his shoulders, hugging him. Robin didn't move, blink, or say a word.

"Your friend is in a better place now," Danny said softly and quietly. "…I am sorry for your loss."

Robin didn't react. After a few more seconds, Danny released him and stood up, smiling at Drake. He was smiling softly back.

"Thank you for those kind words, Danny. You may go now."

"Yes, boss. See you later."

Danny turned around and left. Looking down at Robin, Drake ran his hand through his hair. "I think he likes you."

Robin started to wonder why.

* * *

After another few days, Robin finally ate something. It was just a few plain slices of toast and a bowl of soup. It took a few bites before he stopped feeling nauseous. He then took a long, hot shower. A day before, Dr. Talon had test results back. There were no traces of sexually transmitted diseases in the samples she had taken. Robin hadn't reacted when she read the chart out loud. He was relieved, but didn't show it. Drake had thanked Dr. Talon for her help.

"Hey, how about some fresh air?" It was the afternoon on a Friday. It was sunny and the temperature was around the 70's. Robin didn't answer Drake's question. He stood up, grabbing his cell phone. "Come on. I'm tired of working anyway. You've been cooped up here for too long."

Robin didn't move. Reaching down, Drake gently tugged on his collar, making him stand up. Reluctantly, Robin followed him out of the office and down the stairs. He hugged himself, his tail wrapping gently around his waist. They were about to pass Noah's cage when said teen saw them. Standing up, he leaned against the bars, staring out.

"Hey, Robin." Robin suddenly stopped a foot from him. Slowly turning his head, he looked at him blankly. Noah gave him a small nod. "You'll be alright."

Robin blinked. For the first time in a long time, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Yeah…" Noah stuck his hand out of the cage. Stepping up to him, Robin grabbed it. They both squeezed tightly, forming a silent friendship. Robin stared intently at him, his brow slightly furrowed above partly narrowed eyes. "You'll be free again. I promise."

Noah smirked. "You bet your white ass."

Ending the handshake, Robin turned and continued walking. He caught up to Drake at the door.

"It's good to see you two have become friends." He gave a nod to the guard to open the door. Sunlight streamed in. "Keep the door open. The kids could use the fresh air and natural light."

"Yes sir."

Robin and Drake walked out into the crisp, cool air. Turning right, they headed for a group of guards in shorts playing a friendly game of basketball. Danny was sitting near the top row of bleachers, watching the game as he ate lunch. Drake stopped Robin at the bottom of the bleachers.

"I'm going to jump in. You can sit with Danny if you want."

Robin nodded. "Okay."

After patting his head gently, Drake limbered up while Robin headed up the bleachers. He approached Danny. Seeing him, he lifted his head and smiled. He had a tray on his lap as he had his feet on the seat below him.

"Nice day huh?"

Robin sat down a few feet from him. "I guess."

He and Danny turned to watch Drake play against all four of his guards. Robin thought he was crazy since he was so much smaller than his burly guards. Then he remembered that it was an advantage to being short. Drake easily wove in and out of the men to reach the hoop. He curved his right arm, throwing the orange basketball against the backboard and making it in for two points.

"Drake isn't all that bad." Robin tore his gaze away to look at Danny. He scooted closer to Robin, not taking his eyes off Drake. "You know, he saved my life once. I was rafting with my parents when we hit a really rough spot. Our raft hit a large rock, tipping it over and taking us with it. Both of my parents hit their heads and drowned." Tears formed in Robin's wide eyes. "I went spiraling through the rapids, trying to right myself, but the raft was too heavy for me. I blacked out after hitting my head on a tree log and, when I came around, I was washed up on the shore, soaking wet. Drake had been hunting that day and saw my raft drifting. He told me he jumped in and saved me. He performed CPR, forcing the water from my lungs. He nursed me back to health in a cabin he owned nearby." Danny paused, smiling. "I decided to repay him by working here. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go, you know? My family thought I was dead since investigators couldn't find me. I had seen on the news while I was healing that my parents had been found, which is where I learned that they died quickly. I've been by Drake's side ever since, assisting him whenever he needed me. We're best friends and I admire everything about him. He is my hero and I'd sacrifice my life for him."

Robin stared at Danny for a long time, hardly blinking. Soon his gaze lowered and he turned his head to the left. Somewhere out there, Slade was risking his life to find him. Robin wondered how far away he was. Was he thousands of miles away or getting closer? Robin subconsciously sniffed the air, trying to pick up his scent. Unfortunately, he smelled nothing but the forest, the buildings, and the scents coming from the basketball courts—rubber and asphalt.

Exhaling silently, Robin looked at Danny, who was finishing up his sandwich. "You're not such a big chicken after all." Looking at him, Danny smiled. "Sacrificing your life for someone important to you is a noble thing. I know someone who would sacrifice their life to save me. I'm quietly waiting for that day."

Danny's smile disappeared, but he nodded. "I just hope you don't get disappointed if that day doesn't come."

Robin just nodded before turning his head and watching Drake score yet another goal.

* * *

The next day, Drake got a call on his cell. He picked it up and answered it. Robin was emerging from the bathroom.

"I guess I can fit a walk in. Send him up." Drake hung up as Robin sat down. "I got someone coming up in a few seconds. I don't have time to send you away, so behave."

"Yes, sir."

There was a firm knock on the door a second later. Drake smiled, grabbing two log books—one filled with the worth of each child, the other for his sales' records. "Come in."

The door slowly opened. Robin lowered his gaze for just a split second before jerking it back up. A strange chilling sensation on his neck and shoulders made the hairs rise as he stared at the tall, broad man entering the room. He closed the door, stepping up to the desk. His appearance was sharp and chiseled perfectly. A head full of scraggly, black hair fell around his thick shoulders and forehead. His eyes were a stunning, emerald green color. The man wore a black business suit with matching black tie around his neck. His shoes were polished and also black. To Robin, he almost looked like a non-giant version of Hagrid from Harry Potter. The appearance wasn't what made Robin perform a double take though. No, there was something else about the man that bugged him, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Who was this guy?

"Please, sit down," Drake told the man. "I just need to ask you a few questions."

"Yes, of course," the man said with a strong accent.

He ignored Robin as he sat down, but it couldn't be said for him. He racked his brain for some kind of memory of the man, but wasn't getting anything. He thought that if he stared long enough, it would hit him.

"Okay, first, I need your name."

Drake picked up a pen as the man answered, "My name is Vaughn Vlackert."

"And what are you looking to buy, Mr. Vlackert? I need species, gender, and preferred age."

"I am looking for a primate, preferably a monkey. Must be male at age fourteen or fifteen."

Drake quickly flipped through his species log, going to the P section. He slowed down, turned another page, and then scanned it. "We have a few primates to choose from. We have two light-haired primates, a few gorilla species, one lemur, and your regular, generic, brown monkey. We have both kinds of brown."

Vlackert was silent momentarily and Robin swore he saw the gears turning in his head. He was still trying to figure out what made this man memorable. He almost felt…calm and trusting towards him. Robin's heart seemed to flutter for some reason as well. His tail was fidgety and uncontrollable. Who the hell was Mr. Vlackert?

"What's the price on the light brown monkey?"

Robin's tail wrapped tightly around his arm right then. It was like it was trying to tell him something that was important. But what did a damn monkey have to do with anything?

"The light brown one is sixteen with red hair and he is priced at four thousand dollars. The lowest I will go for is three thousand, in case you wish to haggle."

The man thought about it for a moment. Robin suddenly blinked in surprise. Vlackert was adjusting his jacket sleeve and he swore he saw him press the button that held the cuffs together. Had he really seen it or was he imagining things?

_'Who the hell is this guy?'_

"That sounds just perfect," Vlackert said. "I will buy this boy at-"

A loud rumble suddenly filled the office, making Robin wince since he could hear it more acutely. Drake froze as his cell phone rang. There was a second rumble and then a third, making the office shake. Snatching up the phone, Drake flipped the lid and slammed it against his ear.

"What the hell was that?!" Drake suddenly jumped up. "What do you mean three lab stations combusted simultaneously?! What did you do?!" Robin kept staring at Mr. Vlackert, who didn't seem bothered about hearing something exploding. "One of you did something wrong! Find out quickly! I'm coming down!" Drake slammed the phone shut. He gave Vlackert an apologetic look. "A flask somehow blew up on itself, causing the three lab stations around it with the same chemical to explode as well. I need to make sure my scientists are alright and to find out what is going on. Will you be alright here while I take care of that?"

Vlackert nodded. "Yes, I am in no hurry."

"Thank you." Drake looked at Robin. "Behave yourself while I'm gone."

Not waiting for a 'yes sir', Drake moved out from behind his desk and stalked towards the door. He left, closing it hard behind him. The room was completely silent. Vlackert still didn't look at Robin, which he found odd. He hadn't even glanced a split second at him. After a few seconds, he carefully stood up and went to the door. He parted the blinds to look out. Robin stared dumbstruck at him, still having this nagging feeling in the back of his mind. His tail was still trying to get his attention. Then it got stranger. Vlackert lowered the strip and locked the door. Robin's eyes widened in surprise and he felt his heart skip. Had Vlackert somehow caused the explosions to get Drake out of the office? If so, why? What did the man _really_ want?

"Well, that was easier than I thought." Robin's mouth fell open. Vlackert's accent had suddenly vanished to be replaced by a much softer, but still firm voice. Turning, he stepped to the middle of the room. "Are you even paying attention to your tail, Robin?"

Robin looked dumbstruck for a few seconds before coming out of it. "What the hell is going _on_ around here?!"

Vlackert reached up for the edge of his hairline with both hands. Robin watched in confusion as he started pulling the hair off his head, revealing white underneath. Dropping what Robin could safely assume was a wig, he dug his fingers into his skin and started to pull. It strained, stretched, and then split, making Robin fall back in surprise. He stared up at Vlackert with wide eyes as he continued to pull his face off. Only one thought crossed his mind.

_'What the fuck?'_

Vlackert—if that really was his name—dropped his face to the floor. Robin couldn't move as he stared at him, his mind completely shut down. After running his hand through his hair, the man slid it down his face. He then smirked at Robin's.

"So, did my little bird miss me?" Robin continued to stare at him as he slowly sat up, his heart pounding in his chest. Standing directly in front of him, Slade stared down at him with a soft smile. A disturbing silence filled the room. Robin slowly stood up in a crouch, one hand resting on his knee while the other was on the floor. Slade blinked, suddenly looking worried. "Robin?"

Robin's brain flared to life. Bottom lip quivering ever so slightly, he scrunched up his eyes, tears forming in them. With a loud sob, he clenched his eyes shut tight and shot forward, practically flying into Slade's arms. Slade held him tight to his chest, allowing him to cry all over him.

"Oh God Slade, I missed you so much! You have no idea the shit I've gone through!" Robin sobbed and cried, thanking God for bringing Slade to him. "I-If only y-you had gotten here s-sooner! B-Beast Boy…th-they captured him and, and-! I-I watched him _die_ Slade! They t-tortured him, forcing him to t-transform, and the s-strain k-killed him! I b-buried him with my o-own two hands! I…I-I-!"

Robin couldn't think of anything else to say. He was just so relieved that Slade was there to save him.

"Come now, Robin, pull yourself together. I didn't cause the explosions _just _to see you. I came to save you, like I promised. Now calm down and stop crying." Robin tried to steady his breathing. It took a while for him to calm down enough to function properly. He sniffed in hard, feeling relief wash over him. "That's my good boy." Robin sniffed again before stepping back. Slade wiped the tears off his cheeks, smiling at him. "We have to get out of here before he comes back."

Something suddenly struck Robin. He stared at Slade pleadingly. "Slade, the others, we can't just _leave_ them here! We have to save them! Drake is trying to sell them to anyone willing to buy them! They're nothing but profit to him! He sells them to bad people—sex traffickers, drug dealers, rapists, the whole shebang! I won't just stand by and let their lives be destroyed! I can't leave them! It's all my fault they're here in the first place! Please, help me free them! I vowed to stop Drake and his company by the time I was saved! I won't leave here until he pays!"

Slade stared at Robin's determined face for a few seconds in silence. Robin's face lit up when he nodded curtly. "I can do that."

"Okay, now did you bring any other explosives or anything?" Robin asked.

Slade rolled his eyes. "No Robin, I came _totally _unprepared, hoping something bad would happen." Robin scowled. Slade started to strip off his suit, revealing a T-shirt and jeans underneath. His utility belt was around his waist. His shoes changed into sneakers with a push of a button on the front of his belt. Reaching into a large butt pouch, he yanked out a wadded red T-shirt and black shorts, throwing them to Robin. "Get those on quick. We're running out of time."

Robin quickly changed as Slade pulled out another belt in the same pocket and started filling it with weapons. He then gave it to Robin, who clicked it on around his waist. Soon, they were ready. They stood at the door, Slade unlocking it. Robin turned to him.

"Okay, so this is what we're going to do…"

* * *

The door to Drake's office opened. "Okay, Mr. Vlackert, everything is under con-" Drake froze in the doorway, his eyes widening. He saw the suit, wig, and fake skin on the floor, but no Robin. Drake gritted his teeth. "Shit. Fuck!" Drake rushed in, grabbed his cell phone, and called security. "Check every camera, inside and out, for Robin and a white-haired man! I need all of my guards in here now! Find them and stop them at all costs! Then-!"

Drake heard an explosion on the other end and a man screaming. Cursing a million times over, Drake threw the phone, quickly went around his desk, and started rummaging through his drawers. He yanked out a walkie-talkie and a long syringe with bubbling, red liquid, which he stuffed into his pocket, and raced around to the door, flying out of the office at top speed. Holding the walkie-talkie to his face, he pressed a big red button, contacting every security guard at the same time.

"Code Red! I repeat, Code Red! I can guarantee any second now that the children are going to run rampant! Everyone get to the factory!"

Drake was just about to pass a set of cages when a steel boomerang came spiraling towards him from the left side. Seeing the glint out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly dropped down. The weapon flew right over him, crashing into a light fixture on the wall support. Rolling over, he moved out of harm's way as three kunai came pelting down at him. He jumped to his feet and looked up. There was no one nearby. The kids were staying as far back as they could, cowering in fear.

"HA!"

Drake spun around right as Robin, in mid-air, aimed a powerful kick to his face. Drake's eyes widened seconds before the foot made contact with his head. He flew back, crashing into the cage and dropping his walkie-talkie. Robin landed in a crouch and then bolted before Drake could recover. Behind him on the other side, Slade was slicing through the steel bars of the cage with a mini lightsaber-like device. Robin was doing the same with the other cages. Guards were rushing in from the front door, tranquilizer guns at the ready. Once the bars had been removed, the kids rushed out, heading for the exit. Robin went to Noah's cage and lasered the bars off. The jaguar was helping the younger kids get out the new door.

"I want you and some of the older teens to help these guys escape!" Robin tossed Noah a laser. "Just slice the bars with that! If you need to, have the older kids fight against the guards! I promise that all of you will be free from this place!"

Noah smirked. "You better fulfill your promise, shithead!"

With a thumbs up, Robin turned and ran. Noah got the rest of the kids out and then went to free some of the older teenagers. This was an all-out war: Freaks vs Normals.

Back at the first cage, Drake stirred. Coming to, he sat up, feeling disoriented and dizzy. When he recovered, he slowly got to his feet, growling. Danny came rushing to him, looking worried.

"Boss! You alright?"

Reaching into his pocket, Drake yanked out a set of keys, thrusting them at Danny. "Take these and go to Cabin 9 and the Coliseum, in that order. I need you to get the snow leopard ready. Then meet me at the Coliseum."

"Yes boss!"

Danny turned and ran, keys clenched tightly in his hand. For now, Drake ignored the children trying to escape and the guards that ran past him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the needle and held it, tip down, in the palm of his hand. He stared at the red liquid for a few seconds before clenching it tight in his fist.

"You will soon see things my way." Drake pocketed the needle and then turned to grab his walkie-talkie. He pushed a different button than the first one. "Larson, grab the DNA serum of your favorite animal, as well as the cure, and meet me near the doors into the Coliseum. I will let you know my plan when I meet you there." Not waiting for a reply, Drake pushed the red button. "Whoever finds Robin, inform me immediately. And if you see a white-haired man, shoot him on sight."

Drake pocketed the walkie-talkie and then made his way towards the Coliseum. Meanwhile, Slade was fighting off against some guards that had surrounded him. His bo staff was extended in his hand. He knocked guards down with ease, keeping his eye open for more. Robin was rushing across the tops of the cages, making sure kids were getting out okay. He threw weapons to dispatch guards as he passed them. Once he was satisfied, he looked around, trying to locate Drake. Robin had spotted Danny running out of the factory a minute previous, but he ignored him. A part of him felt pity for him. Robin would probably have to fight him by the time he was ready to take Drake down.

Robin skid to a stop when he spotted Larson running away from him out of the corner of his eye. Growling, he dropped down from the cage and followed after him. He took down guards that approached him quick and easy. Larson rushed out a side door. Robin flipped over a guard that got in his way, landed in a crouch and then got back up. He soon reached the door and rushed out. Larson was running across the dirt field, heading for another, much larger building. Someone was waiting for him by the doors.

Drake saw Robin racing towards Larson. He stopped in front of him. With a nod, they both entered the building, Robin hot on their heels. The door slammed shut seconds before Robin reached it. He yanked it open and rushed in. Inside was a hallway that went in both directions. Sniffing the air, Robin searched for Drake's scent. He felt a bit uneasy about this place for some reason. Suddenly catching a whiff of Larson's scent, he turned left and headed down the hall. He stopped by a door, which had both Larson and Drake's odors all over it. Pulling it open, he saw a staircase leading up. He jogged up the steps, keeping his eyes and ears peeled when he reached the landing. At the top was a large, concrete room with large fiberglass windows at the opposite end. As far as the eye could see, Robin saw walls made out of yellow-orange clay. He cautiously made his way towards them. Stopping, he looked out and saw the inside of the large Coliseum. At one end was a rectangular space covered by thick, steel bars. Robin recognized the arena like the one in Greece, where gladiators fought vicious creatures for honor, sport, and show. What lay inside the hole in the wall was probably the snow leopard.

The door behind Robin suddenly slammed shut. He whipped around, growling. Standing all the way across the room from him was Drake. He was blocking the exit, but took a step forward.

"Good of you to join us. Larson, I need your assistance." Eyes widening, Robin didn't have enough time to escape Larson's clutches as he came up behind him. He held him tightly, holding him completely still. Walking up to them, Drake pulled out the syringe from his pocket. Robin growled at him, trying to break free. "Just relax. I hold in my hand the cure to your transformation."

"That's a lie!"

"I'm not lying. This is the cure you have been waiting for for a long time. The one that Poison Ivy failed to create. However, there's a catch. You will have the ability to change back into a wolf whenever you want. You can stay human forever, but you can still transform if you wish. I am going to give this to you, but only in exchange for staying with me. Even if you don't want it, I will change you anyway and control you when I want to. Either way, you will still be able to become entirely human again. Isn't that what you want?"

Robin growled. Yes, that's what he had wanted from the very beginning, but now the stakes were higher. No matter what he chose, he would still be Drake's obedient pet, and that's what he definitely _didn't _want. However, with Slade in the picture and the fact that the anthros were slowly taking over the facility, maybe it wouldn't come to that. There was one other thing though.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Yes, I did consider that you might believe I was lying," Drake said. "But that is precisely what my good and loyal friend Larson is here for. He grabbed a syringe with the DNA of his favorite animal and he's going to inject himself. He will transform and then I will give him the cure. I will prove to you that I am telling the truth. I wouldn't lie to him, which is why he trusts me enough to be a demonstration. That will help, right?"

Robin thought about it for a long time. Larson hadn't protested on the matter, so he probably believed him. But, just in case, Robin wanted to see it for himself.

"Fine. A demonstration it is then."

Drake smirked. "I thought so." He looked at Larson. "Let him go and inject yourself."

"Yes sir."

Releasing him, Larson took a few steps back and pulled out a syringe from his pocket. Robin turned and watched as he lifted his sleeve past his elbow. Holding his arm out straight, he tilted the needle near the bend of his elbow and slowly slid it into his skin. He then placed his thumb on the plunger and started pushing it down. Pain shot into his arm and traveled through his chest. His breathing started to shorten as more of the serum entered his bloodstream. His muscles then rippled and started to harden. Once the last drop was gone, Larson pulled the needle out slowly and then threw the syringe to the floor. Growling, his knees gave way and he fell, placing his hands to his head. Robin stepped back a bit more when his body started to lengthen and newly-shaped bones appeared. Talons grew on his hands and his nose started to form into a snout. His clothing ripped when his body began to transform into whatever animal he chose. His feet started to grow longer within his shoes. They broke, revealing sharp claws protruding from his toes. Once his shape was changed a minute later, his skin began to change color and spots appeared, slowly molding together. It didn't take long for the transformation to become complete. Robin was amazed and dazed at the same time. Where once a human stood, a velociraptor took his place. Sharp teeth glistened with saliva. Larson let out a screech at Drake and Robin.

Pushing Robin aside, Drake approached him with another syringe, this one of a blue liquid. Larson stared at him with his bulging red eyes, but didn't attack. Like Robin, when he was first hit by Ivy's gas, he seemed to retain most of his human brain. If Drake took too long to inject the cure, Larson's human side would slowly start to vanish and a blood thirsty creature would remain. Luckily, Drake was swift and already had the cure in his veins. He then stepped back to stare at the dinosaur.

"Return to your human form, Larson."

After a few seconds of waiting, Larson's new velociraptor form started to reverse. First the colors started to change and shrink. Next, his bones began to change back towards human bones. Then, his snout started to shrink. Lastly, his talons retracted from his feet and hands and he was once again fully human. A very strong and naked human if you wanted to be technical. This demonstration was all Robin needed to know that Drake was telling the truth. It also bought Slade enough time to get there and save him once again.

"Okay, I believe you. As much as I don't want to be stuck with you, you're not exactly giving me a choice. So I'll do it willingly."

Drake smirked. "Excellent. And since you're doing this willingly, I won't have to be forced to control you into transforming."

Robin held his arm out to him. "Then inject me."

Nodding, Drake stepped towards him, pulled out the syringe from his office, and grabbed his arm. He stuck the needle into Robin's skin and pushed the serum into his veins. A warm sensation filled Robin's body almost instantly. Suddenly, he felt his head changing. Quickly lifting his hand, he touched a wolf ear, which was shrinking. With the other, he felt his temple and felt a human ear start to form. It hurt slightly since the cartilage was reforming, but it wasn't that bad. His tail was getting smaller and smaller and soon vanished. After a few more seconds, everything was back to normal. Robin almost couldn't believe it. After all this time, he was finally human again. He didn't even feel like part wolf anymore.

"There, you see," Drake said. "Just as I told you."

Robin looked at him. His hearing had changed drastically. It didn't sound like people were yelling anymore. His sense of smell wasn't as strong anymore either. Robin was finally back to normal. He was cured! Now there was only one thing left for him to do: escape.

**To Be Continued…**


	20. Mother Nature Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1

This chapter is 13 pages long. It's mostly fighting between Robin and the snow leopard. We also get to see a familiar face! Two familiar faces, to be exact ;) Hope you enjoy!

PS: I will post the last chapter on Sunday :)

**SladinForever**

* * *

Back in the giant laboratory and holding cells, Slade knocked a final guard to the floor. He looked around to see if anyone was left. There was a vast silence in the factory. Relaxing, he reached into his belt and pulled out his communicator. He turned it on and opened a map. He pushed a button every two seconds before stopping when he found a blinking red dot. He zoomed in on it. He wasn't far from the dot. Putting the comm back, he retracted his bo staff, put it away, and headed for the Coliseum. A few minutes later and he stopped in front of the doors. Robin was somewhere in there, but why? Had he found Drake heading this way?

Deciding to ask questions later, Slade pulled open the door and walked inside. The door closed lightly behind him. Looking around, he saw the hallway that either led into the Coliseum or the balcony up above. Robin was currently in the balcony section. Heading left, Slade found the stairs and ascended stealthily to the door. His eyes widened when he heard a loud crash from within.

"Robin!"

Slade rushed through the door, running into what appeared to be a large bubble of air. He slid to a stop before he crashed into the other side.

"Slade, right?"

Slade jerked his head to the left. A red-haired teen with clouded green eyes with scars crossing them had his hand within the bubble. Slade realized quickly that he was controlling it.

"Yes. Who are you?"

"My name is Sam. I control the wind. This is my prison orb. Nothing can penetrate it, so don't waste your time trying to escape." Slade glanced into his eyes. "Yes, I'm blind. Wolves took away my father and my sight."

"I see."

"I fought Robin a long time ago," Sam said. "I tried to kill him but he beat me. Drake prohibits me from trying."

"And why do you wish to kill Robin?" Slade asked.

"Because he's a wolf."

Slade's eye narrowed. "He's mostly human."

"No, not anymore." Slade looked confused. "Drake found a way to change the original transformation serum. Robin can change into a full wolf whenever he wants. When he doesn't want to be one, he can change back _and_ make the ears and tail disappear. In a way, Drake created the "cure" that Poison Ivy couldn't. But at what price?"

"Do you know?"

Sam shook his head. "No. But we're going to find out. You're going to float once I start walking and we jump out the window. You won't get hurt as we make our way down into the Coliseum. My prison goes as long as my hand is within it."

Turning his head around, Sam walked towards the shattered window, Slade following him within the ball, like Sam said he would. He stopped at the edge of the window and then stepped one foot off and then the other. Looking down, Slade saw a few people standing on the high balcony that was closer to the arena. Sam started falling towards it, the prison and Slade falling leisurely with him. Down at the balcony, Drake heard Sam land a few feet away. He turned to him.

"Good, you're just in time for a show." He looked at Slade. "If Robin wishes to live, he'll fight my snow leopard and kill him. He won't be able to do that in his human form though. He'll have to be a wolf if he wants to survive."

"Survive?" Slade asked. "Survive from what?"

"Watch and you'll see."

Slade stared at Drake a little while longer before turning to the large arena. Down below, Robin was lying on his stomach, his arms half stretched above his head. The gate at the end of the arena slowly started to open. Hearing the creaking, Robin slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head. He blinked to get his vision back. Looking out across the arena, he saw the gate come to a stop, darkness laying beyond. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he sensed something powerful coming out of the hole in the wall. Swallowing, Robin carefully stood up and waited.

Robin's eyes widened. A large, light gray paw with darker gray spots emerged from the darkness. Soon, more of the body came out, revealing a furry leg. Glowing blue eyes flashed in the darkness. Soon the head emerged, large fangs protruding from the mouth. Robin took a hesitant step back as the giant snow leopard started to fill a large portion of the arena. It was giant-sized and was probably a bitch to wash when it was really dirty. How was Robin going to stop this thing?

"Do you realize what you'll have to do, Robin?" Drake yelled out. Robin took another step back when the leopard continued his advance. "You can't kill him unless you're in your wolf form! Transform and show your friend what you can do!"

Robin gritted his teeth. Why did Drake want him to use his wolf form so badly? Well, he was going to be disappointed. Robin had faced much bigger and stronger creatures than this snow leopard as a human and he would do it again. Slade had given him two bo staves, several smoke and exploding bombs, and his own boomerangs to fight with. A plan was already forming in his head on what to do. Now he just had to initiate it.

"I'll stop him by human means alone, damn bastard," he muttered. His eyes hardened. "Then you'll wish you never messed with me."

Reaching into the back pockets of his new belt, Robin whipped out both bo staves, extended them fully, and then rushed towards the snow leopard. Feeling threatened, the leopard lifted his massive paw and then sent it crashing into the floor. It rumbled and cracked, forcing chunks of the concrete up. It traveled all the way to Robin's rushing feet, making him trip. He quickly somersaulted, moving over to the right to avoid the pieces. Getting back to his feet, he started to circle the leopard. With insane speed, he swerved around and swiped sideways at him with his paw. Robin turned and crossed the staves and his arms in front of himself to lessen the blow.

"GUAH!" Robin was forced straight off his feet, flying back up to twelve feet. He crashed into the floor several times before reaching another wall. Bumping into it, he dropped the staves. He was panting heavily. "Wh-What…p-power…" Grabbing the bo staves again, Robin pushed himself to his feet and swayed slightly. His stomach and chest were hurting. Looking down, he saw bruises already forming. His eyes widened in shock. "Th-This thing…"

The leopard snarled, making Robin jerk his head up. His mouth flew open to cry out, but no sound came out. He quickly dodge rolled to the left, right before the leopard crashed into the floor where he had been. Quickly scrambling onto his feet, Robin rushed around him, only to get hit in the chest by a whipping tail. He flew back through the air, gritting his teeth and growling. As he began to fall, the leopard turned, ran forward a few feet, and pounced at him, jumping high into the air. Opening one eye, Robin saw him get in the way of the overhead lights. His claws extended as he flexed his paws. Gripping his right bo staff tight, Robin pulled his arm back and then threw it in an arc as he spun. Right as the furry legs sailed past him, he slammed the end of the staff against the leopard's nose.

"GRRRRRAWR!"

As they both fell sideways, Robin jerked his body around, hitting the leopard's face with the other staff. He jerked his head back, snarling. Robin planted his feet into his exposed throat and flew backwards at an angle. The snow leopard rolled backwards and then plummeted towards the floor. His back legs hit first and then he crashed onto his stomach. His head slammed into the floor, leaving giant cracks in the concrete. Robin, meanwhile, had righted himself and then dropped into a crouch on the floor. Panting from exhaustion, he fell sideways, resting his staves on the floor underneath his hands. As the adrenaline slowly dissipated, he felt pain all over. Slowly lifting his head, Robin looked to where the snow leopard was laying. He was motionless for a few more seconds before his eyes snapped open. Robin's eyes widened when he started to push himself onto his paws, like he hadn't been hurt at all. This was getting worrisome.

_'Did Drake enhance this thing to be damn near indestructible? I put all my strength into hitting it!'_

Growling and ignoring the aches and pains, Robin gripped his bo staves tight and then pushed up. He got to his hands and knees and then slowly got to his feet. The leopard began to pace, keeping a very watchful eye on what Robin would do next. A low growl formed in his throat. Standing up straight, Robin took a deep breath, thought of what to try next, and then charged. He threw his right staff behind his back and easily caught it with his left hand. Turning, the snow leopard took one step forward right as Robin whipped out an exploding bomb and chucked it. He cried out in surprise when the explosion occurred and smoke clouded his vision. He backed up to try and get out of it, but it seemed to travel with him. Without hesitating one second, Robin leaped through and began an assault.

Up in the balcony, Sam was listening intently to the battle. Even though he couldn't see with his eyes, he could almost picture what was happening in his mind. He saw Robin whacking the leopard's nose and face with his bo staves before kicking it away. He had heard both crashes, but only felt one, which he was one hundred percent positive was the leopard's. Even if Robin was in his wolf form, it wouldn't have made the Coliseum shake like that. He didn't sense the wolf in him anyway. What he _did _feel from Robin was something he hadn't encountered before. Sam frowned, trying to decide what it felt like. Maybe it was almost dark and ominous?

"You seem like a very perceptive man," he said. Almost forgetting he was there, Slade turned his gaze to him. He saw the furrowed brow of his prison guard. "Do you feel what I feel?"

Slade's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Sam looked at him, his clouded gaze penetrating him. "Robin feels…different." He looked back at the arena, hearing Robin attacking the leopard with his bo staves on his face and legs. "So I'll ask again. Do you feel what I feel?"

Slade blinked before he turned his gaze back to down below. The smoke was now almost cleared away. Robin had managed to climb his way onto the snow leopard's neck and was whacking the side of it with his bo staff. After a few more, the staff broke in half. Robin's eyes were wide as he saw the one half fly away. All of a sudden, his stomach flew into his throat. Robin grabbed on tight as the leopard rolled onto his side and slammed him into the concrete. From the sudden jolt, he lost his grip and lay on his back. The leopard rolled back onto his paws, turned, and then stepped towards him. Robin had hit his head hard, so he was slightly disoriented. His eyes snapped open when he felt the floor quake as the leopard got closer. Slowly turning his head, his eyes wide to the point of hurting under the strain, he saw him lift his massive paw, the claws fully extended.

The paw came down swiftly. Digging his fingers into the floor, Robin quickly rolled towards him, barely avoiding the paw as it crashed into the floor. A small crater with big and small cracks formed. Robin rolled into his other paw, half lying on it with his stomach. His eyes widened again as he felt it lift him up a few feet from the floor. Robin quickly grabbed his thick toes and held on for dear life as he continued to rise in the air. Before the leopard could grab him with his massive, sharp teeth, he threw his feet around and slammed them into his chin. He snarled in anger as his head jerked to the side, large globules of saliva flying from his fangs and gums. Robin forced his body around and up. Landing on the leopard's head, he took his remaining piece of staff, lifted the sharp end above his head, and then slammed it down.

The snow leopard howled in pain as the end went right through his flesh. Robin held on tight as he threw his head around in desperation. He also moved around, trying to force him off and to get the sharp thing out of his head. Turning its thrashing into a forward run, the leopard ran towards the wall. When he was just feet away, he threw his head forward, slamming his forehead into it. Robin flipped and crashed upside down into the wall, crying out in pain as his spine hit. With his grip lost, the snow leopard stepped clumsily back and watched as Robin slid down the wall to land headfirst on the floor. His other bo staff had been lost somewhere along the way.

Tilting his head down as far as he could get it, the snow leopard lifted his paw and scratched at the bo staff still stuck in his head. He growled in pain when it pushed against his flesh. It was stuck in there pretty well. Robin didn't open his eyes as he lay curled against the wall, his arms resting beside him. Slade was staring intently at him, hoping he was okay. Behind him, Drake's eyes narrowed.

"Sam, get the rod out of the leopard's head."

Lifting his free hand, Sam aimed his splayed out fingers towards the giant cat and concentrated. The broken bo staff began to shake as a swirl of air wrapped around it and began to pull. The leopard snarled as pain coursed through his head. Soon, Sam had to curl his fingers into a fist for more power. The titanium shook more violently and was slowly coming out. With a jerk of his arm, the staff popped free, forcing blood and chunks of fur and flesh into the air. The leopard roared the loudest he had ever made before. The sound hit Robin's ears hard and he jolted out of his half-conscious state. Shakily looking upside down, he saw the leopard turn and shake his head. Blood and flesh splattered the floor around it, making Robin almost sick to his stomach.

Pain coursed through Robin as he tried rolling over. His legs dropped to the floor and he laid on his stomach until the headache passed. Taking a deep breath and then letting it out, he lifted his head and began to stand. Looking around, he found his bo staff not too far from the snow leopard. Not wasting any time, he rushed towards it, ignoring the cat for now. When he was almost there, he turned and pounced. Seeing the shadow, Robin dove for the staff, grabbed it in between his middle and ring finger, and then rolled onto his back. The leopard landed over him and then attempted to grab him with his teeth.

When his face was a foot away, Robin thrust the staff into his wide open mouth, making it go all the way down his throat. A look of surprise crossed the big cat's face. He stared down at Robin with wide, gleaming eyes. Something suddenly gurgled in his chest. With a hack, the leopard attempted to throw the staff up, like a furball. Face turning into one of disgust, Robin quickly scrambled out from under him as he hacked again. This time, the staff burst out, along with a giant glob of saliva. Robin grimaced when it went splat. Well, it was safe to say he wouldn't be using his staff _ever_ again. When the snow leopard recovered, he started to turn around. His tail swished around behind him. Blood ran over his face and dripped off his chin.

Robin's eyes slowly widened, his mouth partly open. The hole on top of the leopard's head started shrinking. How was he doing that? It didn't take long for the hole to vanish entirely. The snow leopard did his high-pitched roar before charging. For something so large, he was actually light on his paws. Growling behind gritted teeth, Robin quickly dove to the side and then rolled back onto his feet. The leopard sailed past him. He slid to a stop before he reached the wall and then turned. As it charged again, Robin whipped out two bombs within each hand and threw them at his chest and face. They exploded on impact, stopping the leopard in his tracks. When the smoke cleared, chunks of fur and skin had been burned off. Blood was oozing down his face. While he was healing, Robin ran around him, pulled out more bombs, and threw them at various places along his body. They all exploded, forcing him to step sideways. Once he was behind him, Robin ran towards his backside and attempted to jump on.

Sensing Robin behind him, the snow leopard whipped up his tail and tried to hit him with it. Robin grabbed it as it whacked him in the chest and then twisted his body around and up to rise in the air. As he began to fall towards his backside, the leopard whipped around, got on his hind legs, and then swiped at him with a sideways arc with his massive paw. Robin aimed a butterfly side kick at his paw pads. The heel of his shoe hit the center of his toes, shoving the paw back. Pulling the last of his explosives from his belt with both hands, Robin chucked them at the leopard's back right before he heard the swish of his second paw. Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes tight, Robin braced himself before he felt sharp claws slam into his chest and then stomach. On the balcony, fear filled Slade as he saw the claws shred right through his flesh.

"ROBIN!"

Blood flew through the air, hitting the leopard in the face and blinding him as he and Robin fell back towards the floor. The bombs exploded when they hit his neck, back, and base of his tail, spraying more blood into the arena. Robin's eyes were wide from shock. Pain spread through him like wildfire and he felt himself losing a lot of blood. As he crashed into the floor on his back, he coughed up more. The snow leopard wasn't better off. The explosions had blown off chunks of flesh and fur in various places. They lay on the floor without a sound for a moment before Robin gasped. Closing his eyes tight, he growled in immense pain, sweat heavy on his face.

"Th-This…I c-can't…b-believe…th-this…"

Up in the balcony, Drake stared sternly down at the arena. His snow leopard was growling from his own pain. But, unlike Robin, his body began to heal, very slowly, cell-by-cell, atom-by-atom. The only thing not healing was his strength. He wouldn't be getting it back unless he rested for days. Sam glanced at Slade out of the corner of his narrowed eye.

"Robin is dying."

Slade's hands balled into fists at his sides. This was all Drake's doing. Robin was dying because of him. Turning, he glared at Drake.

"Do something. He's going to die."

Drake looked at him. "If he wants to live, then he has to transform."

"Why? What are you trying to prove?"

Drake smirked. "I want Robin to know _exactly_ what he is capable of, so that I can use it."

Slade gritted his teeth and growled. "Use him for what?!"

Drake laughed. "That isn't really any of your business, is it?" If Slade wasn't in Sam's bubble prison, he would have snapped Drake's neck by now. Looking away from Slade, he moved to the edge of the balcony and smirked down at Robin, who was now on his side, curled up tightly in the fetal position. "Robin, in case you don't realize it, you are dying. If you want to keep on living, then _transform_!"

Sam looked back at the battlefield, feeling that change he felt near the beginning getting stronger. His eyes were narrowed almost to slits, not liking it one bit. He actually swallowed. What had his boss done to him? Back on the floor, Robin felt his strength slipping away. Tears formed in his eyes when he realized he really was dying. Knowing hurt so much because he had just reunited with Slade, the only man he had grown to fall in love with. He had done so much for him ever since Robin encountered Poison Ivy. From mortal enemy to friend to lover… And now it was all over.

"Robin…" Hearing the soft voice, Robin shakily lifted his head and opened his eyes. Up above, he saw Slade staring down at him, giving him the most anguished look he had ever seen from him. He placed a hand on the bubble, his fingers spread. Robin remembered something as soon as he saw it. It had been something Slade once said, but had never explained. _Despite who we are and what we do, we're still the same. _Robin still didn't know what he meant. It sounded so simple, but it really wasn't. "Robin, you need to transform. If it will save your life, then I want you to do it. I don't want to lose you the same way I lost her."

Robin's weak eyes widened somewhat. Slade had only mentioned her one time, but he knew who he was referring to. Lowering his gaze, he closed his eyes and thought back to all the things they had done and how fun and wonderful it all had been. He had lost him way too quickly and he was losing him again. Maybe he really did need to transform. Taking a deep breath with his nose, Robin attempted to pull his tattered shirt off. Pain coursed through him. When it was beside him, he undid his belt, dropped the ends to the floor, and then shoved his jeans down, kicking the leggings off. Not caring to remove his boxers—they'd be destroyed anyway—Robin closed his eyes tight and concentrated. He pictured himself as a wolf; a big, strong, red wolf that could endure anything, even the tragic loss of a friend.

First, his bones began to shift and change. Then the fur began to grow, from white, to faded pink, to brick red. Next, his face elongated into a snout and then a muzzle. Within seconds, a wolf head with ears appeared and fur began to form on his neck. It traveled over his back, down his sides, and over his stomach. Then his legs began to change shape and paws grew, along with claws. When his transformation was complete, Robin's back furry legs were limp under his stomach. His front paws were pressed hard to the floor, to prevent from sliding. His head was lowered as he panted with his tongue hanging. Gritting his teeth tight, Robin tried to stand, blood dripping heavily from his stomach and chest. A growl erupted from his throat as he looked up at the snow leopard with glaring eyes.

"I-I'm…g-going to…_end_ y-you…"

Growling weakly, the leopard got to shaking paws, ignoring the muscles and flesh reforming over his half-mutilated back. They locked eyes for just a moment before Robin's widened. Confusion crossed his face when he began to see something within the leopard's head. It was faded at first, like a ghost, but the more he stared, the more he could see what appeared to be a naked human. When his eyes fully adjusted, he saw a boy only a little older than him curled up. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his crossed legs were drawn up towards his face. What appeared to be nerves were connected to his back, neck, and back of the head. In turn, they were attached to brain matter, which Robin guessed was the snow leopard's. But who was this boy? Robin somehow felt a strong connection with him, but he didn't recognize him. His red hair seemed to strike him the most. Did that mean something?

"Oh Robin!" When Robin's ear twitched, the image of the boy faded away. Looking over and up at the balcony, he saw Drake staring down at him. He then growled. "I would check your injuries if I were you!" Growl faltering, Robin slowly looked down at himself the best he could and saw that the blood had stopped dripping to the floor. Surprisingly, he wasn't feeling anymore pain. What did that mean? "Have you figured it out yet?!" Robin wished he could see his stomach while standing. "I gave the cure a little extra boost, just for you!"

Drake laughed, angering Robin. What had he done to him?! Snarling, fangs flashing, Robin spun around and ran towards the wall of the balcony. Seeing him run away from him, the snow leopard ignored his still injured body and gave chase. When he was feet from the wall, Robin jumped and tried to climb it. He only made it a few steps before losing momentum and falling backwards. Glancing at his stomach, he saw what Drake was talking about. His mouth fell open at the realization that his body had healed. There were no claw marks embedded in him anywhere. Rolling, Robin landed on his paws, swerved around and ran away from the wall, to try again. He suddenly slid to a stop when he almost crashed into the snow leopard's leg. As he swiped down at him with his right paw, Robin turned to the right and dodged. The paw hit the floor where he had just been standing.

"Robin, be careful!"

Heeding Slade's advice, Robin ran further into the Coliseum and then swerved around, growling. The leopard faced him, growled low in his throat, and then roared as he charged. Bending his legs a bit, Robin stood his ground, waiting for the right moment to attack. Jumping into the air, the leopard came at him with more claws. As the paw came down, Robin took a step back and then jumped onto the top of it before it hit the floor. He ran up the leg halfway and then jumped sideways at the right side of his muzzle. With his front claws and fangs, he grabbed a strong hold and then flipped his body around to hit him in the eyes with his back paws. The leopard snarled as he landed on his face. Robin quickly turned, scratching his forehead and part of the corner of his eye with his left claws.

"RAAAAAAAWR!"

Blood burst from the wounds. The snow leopard had to close his bleeding eye. Jumping onto his head, Robin turned, dug his claws in after spreading his front legs, and thrust his wide open mouth at the top of his head. The leopard howled again as his fangs sank right through. He began rushing around the room, jerking his head this way and that. Robin held on tight, trying to tear out a chunk of flesh. If he could somehow get to the boy inside, Robin believed it would help him break free from this body. The snow leopard rushed towards the wall, still shaking his head. When he was close, he jerked it around and slammed it against the cement.

"Hrnk!"

Robin's eyes widened in pain when his spine smashed into the wall, cracking and breaking in several places. He managed to stay holding on to the leopard's head. He pulled his head away from the wall, turned it completely sideways, and slammed it again. Robin clenched his eyes shut as pain ruptured through his entire body, but he still held on tight. The leopard turned away and jumped around the room, trying to fling him off. His body shifted uncomfortably from the shattered vertebrae. After running around the room, slamming his head into the walls, and shaking his head, the snow leopard grew tired and began to slow down. Moving towards the middle of the room, he finally stopped and panted, his thick, pink tongue hanging out of his mouth. Robin took this moment of reprieve to hold his body together so that his healing ability would mend the bones back together. He clamped down onto the leopard's head harder when he tried gritting his teeth. A pained growl formed in his throat as he felt the cracks molding back together. It was both weird feeling and painful. There was something more going on too. His head seemed to hurt even though his back was the only thing that suffered from the wall. He also felt something that wasn't pain surging through his veins. It was all moving towards his mouth. It grew stronger and more potent with each passing second. Suddenly, the sound of whirring surrounded him. Opening one eye a crack, Robin glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw something begin to form around his muzzle. He soon realized it was some kind of bright light that was only getting bigger and brighter. Was this somehow another ability Drake had given him? The better question was, what _was_ it?

Up in the balcony, standing next to Drake, Larson, with a fresh set of clothes on, was staring wide-eyed at the light, clearly confused. "Sir, what have you done?"

Drake was just as surprised as his friend was. "Nothing! I only gave him the ability to heal in this form!"

The light around Robin's mouth had started out blue, but now it was turning red. Eyes snapping open to an unnatural size, he felt a powerful energy course through his body. His eyes flashed scarlet and his fangs suddenly sank. The snow leopard instantly threw his head back.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Blood and chunks of flesh burst from around Robin's mouth as the red light burst, surging with tremendous power. It flew past his head, forcing the fur on his neck to blow around wildly. The leopard yowled in pain. The energy entered his head, through his brain, and into his subconscious. It attached itself to the nerves connected to the red-haired teen and then traveled like electricity to his flesh. It spread all the way around his body. His eyes quivered behind his tightly closed lids and his body convulsed. On top of the leopard's head, Robin clamped his fangs harder into his flesh and then forced his head backwards as hard as he could. Blood spewed the air like a geyser. The leopard snarled and yowled from the intense pain that spread through his entire head and down his neck. He thrashed around, slamming himself into the walls from disorientation. Robin growled against his head, feeling his fangs sink in deeper.

Out of nowhere, blood erupted from all over the leopard's body, causing him to howl even louder because of the pain that came with it. Robin dug his claws into him even more, feeling them get longer and thicker. His eyes were red instead of blue and they glowed faintly. More red energy filled the leopard's subconscious and attached itself to the red-haired boy. His body was now almost completely covered in it. It almost looked like it radiated off him, as though the energy was his. His body tightened in on itself, his closed eyes quivered more noticeably, and his lips parted to show his tightly clenched teeth. A weak growl formed in his mouth, getting louder and louder. As soon as the last spot of skin on the bridge of his nose was covered by the red energy, his eyes snapped open very wide, revealing forest green orbs and a constricting pupil.

"GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

Everyone but Slade and Sam slammed their hands to their ears as the snow leopard's ear-splitting howl rang through the entire building. It slowly died down after he stopped moving completely. His snout faced the ceiling and his mouth was wide open, along with his eyes. Carefully, Robin parted his fangs from his head and panted. Blood pooled into his mouth, trailed over his furry chin, and dripped to the leopard's head. The floor was covered in the leopard's own blood and hunks of flesh. Soon, his eyes turned completely white and he began to fall over sideways. Feeling the sudden drop, Robin dug his paws harder into his head and then shoved off backwards with all his might. He flew back in the air, the corners of his mouth pulling back into a dark grin.

The floor shook as the snow leopard fell onto his side with a loud crash. Robin dropped down and landed on his back paws. His head suddenly felt like it was being stabbed, so he fell onto his stomach. Lifting his head, he growled down at the floor with his eyes shut tight. As the leopard began to get smaller, Robin returned to his naked human form. His right arm lay horizontally out in front of him. He began to push his chest up, dragging his arm backwards. Then his stomach lifted from the floor and he placed both hands down. Looking up with one eye half open, he looked towards the snow leopard and growled low. His eye opened a little more by what he saw lying naked on the floor.

Where the snow leopard once lay, the boy Robin had seen was lying on his stomach with his arms outstretched part way in front of his head. What appeared to be brain matter or slime flowed off his body and mixed with the leopard's blood. He looked passed out, but Robin couldn't be sure. As long as he wasn't dead…

Back on the balcony, everyone was silent, until Larson said, "I do not like zis, Drake."

Drake glanced at him out of the corner of his glaring eye. He then returned his gaze to the arena. "Do you recognize him, Robin?" he called down. Robin pushed up with his hands and clumsily got to his feet. Sweat poured down his face as he stared at the boy. He was panting heavily with one eye closed. They were back to being blue. "You should know. You created him."

Robin's eye slowly widened. In a flash, he saw himself chasing someone clad all in black with a skull mask on his head and wearing a fringed grey cape.

_"You can't catch me, Chuckles!"_

When the memory faded, Robin stayed frozen for a moment longer before he gritted his teeth and growled. His head was slightly tucked in between his shoulders as his body tightened in rage. His teeth grew into fangs and then parted as he growled louder. He heard his knuckles crack as something began to happen. Slowly, sharp claws began to grow on his fingertips. A wisp of steam formed around his feet, flowing up like smoke from a fire. Whipping around, Robin lifted his hands beside him and took a step towards the wall.

"You…BASTARD!"

With inhuman speed, Robin charged at the wall, making Drake, Larson, and Slade's eyes widen in surprise. As if out of thin air, he appeared above them. As he came down at Drake with his claws aimed at him, a snarl fell from his lips.

"LARSON!"

Larson quickly turned into his velociraptor form and jumped into the air at Robin. They crashed into each other. Grabbing his shoulders with his clawed hands, Larson forced them over the rail and they plummeted towards the floor. Robin swiftly slammed his claws into his muzzle, leaving deep gashes in his tough hide. With a screech, Larson dug the talons of his feet into his stomach, drawing blood. Robin didn't seem to care. Opening his mouth wide, he chomped down on the velociraptor's muzzle, forcing his fangs straight through his nose. Larson screeched in pain. With a pull of his head, Robin forced their bodies over sideways, seconds before they crashed into the floor. His mouth came apart when his head smashed into it. He then bounced sideways, crashed onto his back, and then rolled over twice before landing on his stomach. Larson only bounced once and then slid backwards. The top part of his muzzle twitched from being crushed. Blood and chunks of gum came pooling out of his mouth. Drake's hands curled into fists at his sides when Larson didn't get up. He growled faintly.

"Useless sidekick…"

On the floor, Robin began to stir. His eyes fluttered open and he slowly lifted his head. Carefully getting to his hands and knees, he swallowed some of Larson's blood down before opening his mouth and panting. He was about to stumble onto his feet when something cut into the back of his head. His body froze and his mouth slowly opened. He started panting gently as he stared wide-eyed at the floor. His heart instantly pulsed uncomfortably inside his chest. Slowly, a quiet, dark chuckle formed in his head and began to get louder. Robin felt like something was coming towards him from behind. He then heard steel scraping lightly through the thin pool of blood.

_"You are my host?" _a deep, dark voice asked. After a few seconds, Robin heard a thundering chuckle in his ears._ "The fools…"_

Robin felt a stabbing pain in his heart when the chuckle turned into a villainous laugh. Then, his eyes flashed crimson. From his place, Sam was staring at Robin intently when his heart pulsed. His body became tingly all over and he started to feel something ominous and dark in the arena. It didn't take long to pinpoint its source; seemed to be coming directly from Robin. His heart started beating hard against his ribs. Then, out of nowhere, a horrible feeling filled him. Was something happening to Robin? Something terrible? Sam soon started having trouble breathing.

"Wh-What is this…?" Slade glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Is…Is something happening down there?"

Slade's eye narrowed as his brow furrowed. Looking back at the arena, he saw that Robin was on his hands and knees, staring wide-eyed at the bloodied floor. Sweat was heavy on his face and his heart was beating extremely fast. Out of nowhere, something pulsed in his chest that wasn't his beating heart. His pupils contracted, almost vanishing completely, and his brain began to go numb. Back at the balcony, Sam placed a hand to the left side of his face, digging his fingertips into his forehead and closing his eye. He gritted his teeth and growled in slight pain.

"S-Something's wrong."

Slade looked at him. "What?"

Down below, Robin grabbed his head and tilted it back as he screamed. Slade looked back at him, his eyes widening. Red streams that looked like flames spiraled around Robin's body. It rippled in several places, almost like it wanted to transform, but then rejected the idea. Something was happening, he could feel it. Not just from Robin, but from Sam too. It didn't seem like he was taking this weird phenomenon very well. Another stab of pain filled Sam and Robin's heads.

"Wh-What am I…s-sensing? It's not…i-it's not human…" Sam's ears suddenly started ringing. "D-Drake, what…d-did you…d-do?" The next stab of pain made him cry out and clench his eyes shut. Tears formed in them. "What's happening?! What's going on?!"

Everyone but Sam's eyes were on Robin. He was crying out and growling randomly. Falling forward, his body shook uncontrollably. The devilish voice in his head kept speaking words that seemed to drip like silk droplets from its mouth.

_"Let me free, boy. Let me take control. Just let yourself go and I will take over."_

"N-No, I…I-I w-won't…"

_"**Yes**__! Give in to me! Your body belongs to __**me **__now! LET ME OUT!"_

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Sam fell to his knees as he cried out from the intense, ringing pain that filled his ears. "Stop it! Stop it now!" Slade looked from Robin to Sam and back again several times. "STOP EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!"

Unable to stand it, Sam pulled his hand out of his bubble prison and smashed it against his other ear, screaming. The bubble popped, freeing Slade. Seeing this, Drake glared at Sam.

"What the hell are you doing?! Get off the fucking floor and restrain him!"

Sam continued to scream in pain. The noise in his ears was close to destroying his eardrums. Ignoring all of them, Slade ran to the edge of the balcony, grabbed the rail, and jumped over, heading for the arena floor. He braced himself as his feet neared the bottom. Landing, he rolled to break his fall right as Robin's body started to change. The tendrils of red energy swirled around him, like it was creating a barrier. Once on his feet, Slade ran towards him.

_"That is right, boy, transform again! Make me stronger! Stop resisting me!"_

Holding his hands with half curled, clawed fingers in front of him, Robin let out a howling cry, fangs protruding from his mouth. The whites of his closed eyes filled in with red and the iris and pupil vanished. Falling back down onto his elbows, he grabbed the back of his head and screamed. His back pulsed and rippled, his spine appearing against his skin. His body filled with immense pain. Several bones cracked as they tried to change shape and size. Soon, the pain was so unbearable that Robin couldn't stay up. He fell to his side like a wounded animal, his body convulsing and jerking in ways it shouldn't. His wolf ears appeared and vanished repeatedly, like they were trying to make up their mind on what to do. A slight bump, possibly a wolf snout, kept making disappearing acts on his strained face.

_"**RELEASE ME**__!"_

"GYRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

As Robin screamed animalistically, he was rolled onto his back. His back arched, forcing his chest into the air. His claws dug into his head as he held it with both hands. A sound halfway between a growl and a howl escaped his mouth. When he fell back down, he dropped his hands, digging his claws into the floor and cracking it. His body jerked to the left as he continued to make the odd growling noise. Slade's strong hand pulled him back to the floor and then he placed it on Robin's left cheek as he hovered beside him. His other hand gripped his right shoulder, trying to keep him as still as possible.

"Robin, you can stop now. It's over. You don't have to fight anymore." Robin continued to growl and howl in pain as his body continued to convulse. "Relax, Robin. It's alright."

The voice in Robin's head laughed. _"__Your friend is a fool. My strength outranks yours, boy. You are a mortal, trying to fight a daemon. I will take control of you and then you will kill every human on this planet! You are part of a great plan, boy! Together, we can rule this world! Now, GIVE ME YOUR BODY!"_

"NO!" Robin snarled. "I won't! I-I won't l-let y-you…!"

_"Yes, boy, you will! It is your destiny! You cannot stop me! __**No one **__can stop me!"_

Robin growled in anger and pain, tears streaming down his face. "Y-You c-can't have m-me…! Th-This is _m-my_ b-body and…a-and y-you're not welcome h-here…!"

Slade stared down at Robin in confusion, wondering who he was speaking to. Was something taking over his body? Was it good or evil? He'd go with the latter. Evil wasn't welcome anywhere except in Hell. Slade had to help him fight it. He didn't want to lose him again.

"Don't let it consume you, Robin. You can stop it. I believe in you."

The voice in Robin's head gave an exasperated growl. _"__What? What is this feeling, boy?" _The jerks in Robin's body started to simmer down. His growling was slowly diminishing and the pain was subsiding. The voice in his head growled in anger. _"__My…M-My power. What is this? Where is it going? Stop it, boy! Stop whatever it is you are doing! I control your body now! Release me!"_

Robin's body didn't jerk as much as he lay calmly on the floor. His tears stopped and the pain was almost gone. He felt weak, but relaxed. He stared up towards the ceiling, his mouth partly open and his eyes half closed as he breathed deeply.

"You c-can't control me," he said, almost inaudibly. "My heart is m-mine, n-not yours. And you can _n-never_ have it."

The red energy around Slade and Robin started to fade, starting from above and making its way down. As it disappeared, the air around them became fresh and cool. Robin lay on the floor, his body completely still. With the last of his strength leaving him, he slowly closed his eyes and was gone.

**To Be Continued…**


	21. Mother Nature Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

_"I underestimated you, boy. You have me in check…for now. I cannot leave this body. My soul is attached to yours. The soul of Fenrir the wolf daemon."_

The voice faded away. On the floor of the arena, Robin began to stir. His eyes tightened and then fluttered open. His vision was blurry, but he blinked and it began to adjust. He felt someone beside him, holding and rubbing the top of his hand. Slowly turning his head, Robin saw Slade staring down at him. A weak smile formed on his face.

"You alright, little bird?"

Robin tried to sit up. Slade allowed him, helping him most of the way. He placed a hand to his head as it pulsed in pain.

"What…h-happened?"

"You fell unconscious," Slade said, crouching on his feet and turning slightly. "You gave me a scare. Do you remember anything?"

Robin had to think back. Did he remember what just happened? It was a bit fuzzy. "Sort of…"

"You fought Red X, who was turned into a giant snow leopard, and, after you defeated him and he reverted to his human form, something happened," Slade explained. "You fell and red energy swirled around you." Robin pictured everything that had occurred as Slade spoke. He remembered the voice telling him to let it take control of his body, but he had refused and fought back. "After everything calmed down, you said-"

"That it couldn't have my heart," Robin said. "Before I woke up, I heard a faint voice. It was the one from before. It said it was attached to my soul." Robin's brow furrowed. "The soul of a wolf demon, it said."

"It was all Drake's fault," a voice behind Slade said. Looking up, Robin saw Danny approaching. He stopped a few feet away. His face was blank, but Robin could see disappointment and sympathy in his eyes. "He injected you with the cure. I had seen a few vials full in his private lab. For some reason all of them were blue, except for one."

Lowering his gaze, Robin remembered back to Drake holding the cure in his hand. The liquid had been red. He looked back up at Danny. "If what the voice said was true, why would Drake let a demon live inside of me? He wanted to control me, not let a demon do it."

Danny shook his head. "Maybe he thought the red was much stronger and didn't know the real reason behind it. Nevertheless, he did this to you. And I'm sorry."

Not wanting to be on the hard floor anymore, Robin tried to stand. Slade gripped his arms and helped him up as they rose off the floor. Turning around, he let him lean against him for support. Robin looked at Danny and smiled.

"You don't have to apologize. If he didn't know, then there's nothing to be sorry for."

"Its not just that," Danny said, handing him a pair of his boxers. "Its everything he did to you. He took you from Slade for his own personal gain. I finally realized how wrong this all was. I knew the type of people coming in to buy children and I did nothing to stop it. Forcing kids to be something they're not is cruel. Drake is my savior, my friend, so I didn't want to turn against him. But, I did. And it was the hardest thing I ever did."

Blinking, Robin looked around, trying to locate Drake. Over by the wall, he stood with Sam in his prison orb. Robin looked back at Danny in confusion. "You really did that?" Danny nodded. There was silence for a long time after this. Since knowing him, Robin always thought he was a pathetic, weak chicken who was just Drake's lap dog. Robin didn't think he was strong at all. Why else was he so willing to please his fucked up friend? Robin quickly changed his mind about Danny. "You know what?"

Danny's eyes widened in confusion. "What?"

Closing his eyes, Robin grinned. "You're not a big, fat, stupid chicken after all."

Danny blinked rapidly. "Um…thanks?"

Placing his hand on Slade's chest, Robin stepped away from him and stepped towards Danny. He stood his ground. Stopping four feet away, Robin slowly extended his hand to him. Danny looked down at it, not knowing what to do. Closing his eyes, Robin smiled.

"Stopping Drake makes you the greatest friend in the world."

Danny looked back up at his face, thought maybe this was a trick, but then smiled. Lifting his hand, he grabbed Robin's and squeezed firmly. "Thank you."

They dropped their hands, allowing Robin to pull the boxers on. As he looked back up, he saw Drake out of the corner of his eye and thought of something. Slade and Danny watched as he limped towards him, his smile gone. Drake was glaring at him as he got closer. Stopping a few feet away, Robin stared hard at him. Drake growled in annoyance.

"Mark my words, when I get out of here-" Lifting his right fist swiftly, Robin threw it directly at his face. Drake's eyes widened right before the fist made contact with his jaw. He flew straight out of the bubble, crashing into the floor and sliding back a few feet. As he tried sitting up, Robin approached him, looking very serious all of a sudden. Holding himself up with his hands behind him, Drake gritted his teeth at him. "Damn brat!"

Stopping directly over him, Robin glared. "You did this to yourself. You're a greedy, selfish, condescending piece of shit. Even Danny, who is your one and only friend, saw it but was too afraid to call you out on it. You kidnapped scared, little children and tortured them with your serum. You're the reason my friend is dead. You've caused nothing but pain and destruction, just so you could become rich. You don't deserve _anything_. You especially don't deserve someone like Danny. So if you want to make this right, you'll cure everyone still left and then give me the purchase logs of everyone you've already sold off. I'm going after them and saving those kids. Understand?" Drake didn't answer. Robin gritted his teeth in anger. "You destroyed _everything_! After I left my home, I found a new one! For the first time in months, I was happy! I stopped caring that Poison Ivy had turned me into what I was! I started getting used to it! But then you took all of that AWAY!" Drake tried to back away when Robin snatched at his neck. He gripped the front of his shirt with his left hand and pulled him up until they were almost face-to-face. "I have _every _reason to kill you right now. And I can do it too. But I won't, because you have someone that cares about you. So stop thinking the world only revolves around you and tell me where those fucking BOOKS ARE!"

Drake stared directly into Robin's eyes, feeling nothing. Then he flat out said, "No."

He never saw Robin slam his fist into his face, breaking his nose. He crashed into the floor after he let go of him. Snarling, he reached down for him with both hands and quickly threw him behind him. Drake crashed head first into the floor with a loud crack. Not waiting for him to recover, Robin quickly landed on him and started punching him repeatedly in the face. Blood burst from his mouth and nose. Grabbing his shirt again, Robin held his right hand above his head and dilated his claws. Drake looked up at him with one eye closed and panting heavily. Robin was about to leave deep gashes in his face when he lifted his hand up to stop him.

"W-Wait, I-I'll…I-I'll tell you." Robin's face softened a bit. He slowly retracted his claws and let him go. Drake lay there for a few seconds to regain his breath. "Th-They're…in the locked desk d-drawer on the right side in m-my office." He shakily reached for his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He held them out to Robin to take. "It's the fifth key on h-here. There has only been one book so f-far and it doesn't have many. A l-lot of them were taken out of the country and to Europe and such." Robin took the key ring from him. Drake lowered his hand back down. "The rest are scattered all over America and Mexico. Fifty-to-one hundred I would expect."

Robin stared down at him a little while longer before carefully standing up and taking a step back. His face was blank as he stared down at him. "You should be thankful you'll never know what you've got until its gone. Danny is forever indebted to you for what you did for him after his family died. Don't let your selfishness and greed push away the only thing you have _left_." Turning around, Robin headed for the Coliseum door. "Come on, Slade."

Nodding, Slade stepped after him. Drake slowly pushed himself up with one hand, his arm behind him. "Robin." Stopping, Robin didn't look back. Drake placed an arm to the underside of his nose. "Good luck."

Silence filled the Coliseum. Inhaling, Robin continued walking. Slade made fast strides to catch up to him. They reached the outside and then headed back for Drake's office. Sam and Danny were helping him up. He glanced at Danny with half closed eyes.

"Danny?"

The young man looked at him. "Yeah?"

Drake rested his head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

From the amount of blood loss in his head, Drake fell unconscious against Danny. He smiled weakly.

"Don't be…"

As Robin entered the factory, all the rescued kids were standing in the aisle that led to the back of the building. Noah was in the very front with his arms folded over his chest. Robin stopped a few feet from him. They didn't speak for a long time. Slade stopped twenty or so feet away. Noah gave a short lift of his head.

"You alright?"

"Mostly."

"You look like you had a run in with the leopard."

Robin ran his hand through his hair. "It was more than that actually. Apparently, I have a wolf demon attached to my soul." Noah quirked an eyebrow. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm going to Drake's office to grab the book of all the kids he sold. They're scattered all over the world. I'm going to save the ones here in America. That includes Rosie."

"And what about us?"

Robin looked at everyone. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Half a year ago, I ran into an old enemy named Poison Ivy. She had this gas that turned me into a wolf. My friend Slade found me and helped cure me the best he could. I was just like all of you. I have friends in high places. They will save you from this place and cure you. Then you can all go home. For those who don't have a place to go, I wish you the best of luck. I'm going to need it too if I'm to save those that were already sold. Again, I'm really sorry this happened to you. I'm going to make it right, no matter _what_ it takes." Everyone stared silently at him. Unfolding his arms, Noah started to clap. Soon, others joined in. Eventually the entire building echoed with cheers and clapping. Robin smiled. "Thank you."

Noah moved closer to him, suddenly looking sternly at him. Robin blinked in confusion. "You better save Rosie."

"Don't worry, I plan on it."

Noah placed a firm hand on his shoulder, his eyes narrowed. "Promise me you'll bring her back to me."

Robin nodded. "I promise."

They stared hard at each other for several seconds. Noah slowly lowered his hand from his shoulder. "I'll be waiting for the two of you. Someday."

Turning around, Noah went back to join the other kids. Slade finally appeared beside Robin on the left. Grabbing his wrist, he slowly pulled him around and slid his fingers down his palm. Robin looked up at him as he interlaced their fingers and squeezed his hand.

"I love you."

Robin's eyes widened slightly. "You do?"

Wrapping his other arm around his waist, Slade pulled him flush against his body and smirked. "I do." He quickly pressed their lips together for a long kiss that took Robin's breath away. Closing his eyes, he kissed back. Slade ended it and smiled softly down at him. "Do you want me to come with you on your quest?"

Robin smiled back. "No, I have to do this alone. What I want you to do is contact Bruce and the Titans. They can help make the government fix all of this. Tell them I'll see them again one day. I also want you to tell the others that Beast Boy risked his life to find me. And tell them that I love them."

Slade kissed him gently once. "I will."

Nodding, Robin stepped back, pulled his hand out of Slade's, and then moved towards the children. They parted to let him pass. Reaching the stairs, he walked up, entered Drake's office, and went to the locked drawer. He used the fifth key and unlocked it. He pulled it open, found the two books, and grabbed them. Setting them on the desk, he opened the covers and found the Purchase Log book. He skimmed it, making quick glances at all the states that were listed. Some kids had been taken to countries he had never even heard of. Sitting down, he looked for paper and a pen. When he found them, he started writing down every address of the children in America and Mexico. None were in Canada at least. After fifteen minutes, he was done. He grabbed the book and two pieces of paper and then headed out. He met Slade back downstairs. He handed him the log book.

"Give that to the government. I wrote down all of the names and addresses of the ones still in America and Mexico."

Slade took the book from him. "I'll take care of things here."

Robin nodded. "And take Red X home with you. He needs to get back on his feet."

"I was already planning on it."

"Good."

After another passionate kiss, Robin turned and located Noah. Feeling him staring, he turned. Robin smiled. "I'm going now!"

Noah threw a punch in his direction and smirked at him with closed eyes. "Later, mutt!"

After a small wave, Robin turned around and headed for the door. Slade watched him go, knowing he would greatly miss him. Holding the scrunched pages in his mouth, Robin quickly took off the boxers, ran forward and jumped in the air, and then quickly transformed into his red wolf form. Landing, he started to run, feeling the air rush through his thick fur. He ran down the path between all the buildings, ran past the Coliseum right as Sam with Red X and Danny with Drake came out to go to the hospital, and entered the forest once more, determination heavily on his heart. The further away he was from Slade, the sadder he became. Closing his eyes tight, he threatened to cry. Robin didn't know how long it would be before he was with Slade or his friends again. It would be his hardest adventure yet. There was no telling who would get in his way or help him, but he would face it. And he would conquer it, no matter what.

At the top of a rock cliff, a white wolf with gold eyes stood near the ledge, staring down into the forest. It caught a quick glimpse of Robin running towards his next adventure. Slowly lifting its muzzle towards the sky, the wolf closed its eyes, parted its mouth and fangs, and howled.

_AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO!_

* * *

And that ends book 1! What sort of dangers and places will Robin encounter in his daring rescues? Will he be able to find Rosie and the other children unharmed? Will the demon inside him make his life a living hell? Or will Robin be able to tame the beast? Stay tuned and find out in my next installment of…

**Mother Nature! The Adventure Continues!**

PS: The new story will be posted on January 1st, to start off the New Year. If we survive the Apocalypse anyway ;)


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